Ma Dear's Old Green House

by Denise Lewis Patrick, Sonia Lynn Sadler (Illustrator)

All of us have special places in our childhood memories. They are happy places, fun places. They are places where unique people live. They are places that elicit warm, comforting and safe feelings. They are places we want to visit again and again. MaDear's old green house is such as place. There, Sunday morning breakfast is an event. Hide and go seek is more than just a game. The tall pecan tree isn’t just a familiar landmark. It's a place to rest and dream. At MaDear’s old green house nurturing relatives come and go. You’re surrounded by a nourishing and caring community. And there is freedom to jump, to skip, to run and to grow. Denise Lewis Patrick’s own childhood memories of visits with her grandmother are the inspiration for this poignant story. Through heartwarming and lyrical prose, Patrick shares memories of summers at her special MaDear’s old green house. It is a place all children should have a chance to visit at least once. Patrick’s moving story is beautifully illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler’s bold and vibrant scratchboard images. Much may change around us. We grow older. We move. A special place, however, lives forever—-just like MaDear’s old green house.

Genres: Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2004

Reviews

[J. Boo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Random memories of grandma's house, out in the country.

I am usually a sucker for nostalgia, but I wasn't able to get into this, and while the art is well done for its style, it didn't grab hold of me.

(The illustrator went on to do Seeds of Change; there's a somewhat more fantastical picture in the Miriam's linked review, which seems better.)

2/5, concurred by DS#1 (age 5) (*) and DD (age 3). The right person would like this, but that person wasn't one of us.

(*) DS#1 "Why are all the people black? Is this in India?"

No, it's in America.

"Grandpa's black, but he's not from America."

Well, yes, but aren't there any black children in your Kindergarten class?

"There's [insert Indian name] and [other Indian name] and [yet another Indian name]."

Touche'.

[charlene.librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love these kinds of books that honor the grandmother and grandfather's generation and reminisce of playful summers and time with family. I don't find Patrick's rhythm conducive to the story as I was expecting though I do enjoy the strong, colorful illustration by Sadler.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

summer, grandparents, old houses