My Grandma Likes to Say

by Denise Brennan-Nelson, Jane Monroe Donovan (Illustrator)

Following in the footsteps of My Momma Likes to Say comes the charming My Grandma Likes to Say. Thousands of proverbs and idioms can be found in the English language. Derived from many different sources, these expressions are a wonderful link to history and culture, and can be an instructive tool in language education. "That's a horse of a different color My grandma likes to say. I'm not sure what she means But I like it anyway. Polka dots and stripes. Yellow, orange, and blue. What color would a horse be If it were up to YOU?" Original paintings conceived from a child's point of view provide a hilarious visual interpretation of those sayings oft-quoted by the 'senior' members of our families.Denise Brennan-Nelson also wrote Someday Is Not a Day of the Week, winner of an IRA Children's Choice award. Atireless promoter and enthusiastic speaker, Denise visits countless schools and educational conferences each year, and runs a motivational speaking program through her company Goosebumps. She lives with her family in Howell, Michigan. In addition to the "Likes to Say" books, Jane Monroe Donovan has illustrated three other titles for Sleeping Bear Press, including the bookseller holiday favorite Winter's Gift and the recently released Black Beauty's Early Days in the Meadow. Jane lives in Pinckney, Michigan.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kimberly Dawn]

As the introduction says, in part:
Listen to your Grandma.

‘She wasn’t born yesterday,’ and

her words hold wisdom that comes from

having ‘been around the block a few times.’

‘The bottom line’ is grandmas are in

‘a league of their own.’

And ‘When push comes to shove,’

grandmas would ‘move heaven and earth’ for us.

I love these books. For every idiom, phrase or expression, there is an accompanying illustration. I remember my parents using many of the phrases in my childhood. Many of the expressions originated in literature, from Shakespeare to Aesop.

[Allison]

good examples of idioms & repetitiveness

[Clivemichael]

Entertaining collection of idiomatic expressions amusingly illustrated.

[Margie]

An interesting look at various figures of speech with explanations of how they came about. Amusing and informative for children who are curious about the strange turns of the English language.

[Julie]

What a cute book! It talks of cute sayings that people always say, such as; When Pigs Fly, Growing Like a Weed, Hit the hay, and other cute sayings. They use these sayings like a child is saying it and then the child tries to explain what they think it means.

[Peacegal]

This is a collection of colloquial sayings presented for children. I would have liked to have seen more written about the history and origin for various phrases. I enjoyed the at times surreal illustrations, such as the very odd picture of dandelions with human heads.

[Sheri]

This is a cute children's book with old fashioned sayings even my grandmother would have said and the explanations of where it originated from. Cute idea and great illustrations by Jane Donovan.

[Barbara]

A wonderful book of idioms. Illustrated to show the idioms and shows also the history behind the sayings. Could be used wonderfully as a teaching tool.

[Erika Stauffer]

This book was really fun to read. It also provided descriptions of where different sayings and phrases come from.

[Irina]

We used this book when learning about proverbs and idioms. I love how this book talks about the origin or each and what it actually means.

[Felicia Cherry]

This reminds me of my MawMaw! Great for teaching figurative language.