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Grandpa's Scroll
A scroll that a grandfather plans to finish painting with his granddaughter shows how love can overcome differences and distances.
Lily lives in Washington, DC. Her grandpa lives in Korea. They've never met but are good pen pals. Just when he is about to visit Lily in the U.S., Grandpa dies. Lily and her mom fly to Korea, where they uncover the rice paper scroll Grandpa had hoped to finish painting with Lily. To honor his wish, Lily writes a poem about her grandfather that sits just below his poem about her, so that in the end, they have finished it together.
Lily lives in Washington, DC. Her grandpa lives in Korea. They've never met but are good pen pals. Just when he is about to visit Lily in the U.S., Grandpa dies. Lily and her mom fly to Korea, where they uncover the rice paper scroll Grandpa had hoped to finish painting with Lily. To honor his wish, Lily writes a poem about her grandfather that sits just below his poem about her, so that in the end, they have finished it together.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published May 11, 2023
33 people want to read
About the author
Ginger Park
12 books25 followersAuthor of THE HUNDRED CHOICES DEPARTMENT STORE (awarded 2022 BEST BOOKS by Korean American Authors by Best of Korea) https://bestofkorea.com/round-up-of-k.... Recently published: GRANDPA'S SCROLL. Forthcoming: SUKA'S FARM (Fall, 2024), BINNA'S BIRTHDAY (Spring, 2025).
According to my life path number 3, I was destined to write (that is if you believe in numerology and I do). But as a youngster, I was an athlete, a gymnast with boundless energy, spending most of my time upside down, turning cartwheels and doing backflips – I was too carefree to tap into my creative side.
That all changed on my seventeenth birthday, two days after my father’s untimely death. Call it a gut-wrenching aha moment, a reflective day of tearful soul-searching when I realized that I knew very little about my parents – their lives and dreams growing up in Korea, their struggles to survive in a world of war, oppression, and life shattering events.
For the next few months, I was fretful, clinging to my mother, yearning to know her life story as well as my father’s, fearing our time together was like sand in an hourglass. Night after night, we stayed up late sifting through old photos as my mother shared anecdotal events of the homeland. I was mesmerized, listening, interpreting, and ultimately crafting my art while documenting my family’s rich past that spanned the Korean peninsula from the northern port city of Sinuiju to the capital city of Seoul.
And, so, began my writing journey.
While I never followed in my father’s Harvard footsteps, writing books and owning a boutique chocolate shop in the heart of downtown Washington, DC have been my true education. Yes, Books and Chocolate. As writer and entrepreneur, I’ve built a sweet life, surviving and thriving in an uncertain world.
I’ve written a delicious chocolate memoir and a cookbook for allergy sufferers as well as some whimsical picture books such as Where on Earth Is My Bagel? and The Have a Good Day Café. Do you see a theme here? Yes, I’m a foodie at heart! But it is the books inspired by my parents’ experiences growing up in Japanese occupied Korea, enduring the Russian invasion of their homeland and the Korean War, that have deeper meaning, bring a tragic yet vibrant world back to life.
Sadly, my mother passed away in 2019, but like my father, she lives on through my books, which have garnered many accolades including the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award, Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, The Joan G. Sugarman Children’s Book Award, Outstanding Merit, Best Children’s Books of the Year, Bank Street College, Parents’ Choice Award, A Junior Library Guild Selection, IRA-CBC Teachers’ Choice Award, and NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People Children’s Book Award.
My books have been published by National Geographic, Boyds Mills & Kane, Hyperion, Lee & Low, St. Martin’s Press, Thomas Dunne, and Albert Whitman.
I’m honored to add Regal House Publishing to the list with the publication of my latest work The Hundred Choices Department Store. Set in Sinuiju, Korea, this historical novel is inspired by my mother’s remembrances of her family’s painful struggles during the Russian invasion of their hometown and ultimate flight south, across the 38th parallel to Seoul, just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War.
When I’m not writing or spending treasured time with my human and fur baby family, I’m usually at my shop, behind the counter ‘breaking chocolate’ with my beloved customers. My shop motto: There’s a chocolate for every mood. But for me it’s always something dark and earthy that lingers on the tongue long after the chocolate has melted.
According to my life path number 3, I was destined to write (that is if you believe in numerology and I do). But as a youngster, I was an athlete, a gymnast with boundless energy, spending most of my time upside down, turning cartwheels and doing backflips – I was too carefree to tap into my creative side.
That all changed on my seventeenth birthday, two days after my father’s untimely death. Call it a gut-wrenching aha moment, a reflective day of tearful soul-searching when I realized that I knew very little about my parents – their lives and dreams growing up in Korea, their struggles to survive in a world of war, oppression, and life shattering events.
For the next few months, I was fretful, clinging to my mother, yearning to know her life story as well as my father’s, fearing our time together was like sand in an hourglass. Night after night, we stayed up late sifting through old photos as my mother shared anecdotal events of the homeland. I was mesmerized, listening, interpreting, and ultimately crafting my art while documenting my family’s rich past that spanned the Korean peninsula from the northern port city of Sinuiju to the capital city of Seoul.
And, so, began my writing journey.
While I never followed in my father’s Harvard footsteps, writing books and owning a boutique chocolate shop in the heart of downtown Washington, DC have been my true education. Yes, Books and Chocolate. As writer and entrepreneur, I’ve built a sweet life, surviving and thriving in an uncertain world.
I’ve written a delicious chocolate memoir and a cookbook for allergy sufferers as well as some whimsical picture books such as Where on Earth Is My Bagel? and The Have a Good Day Café. Do you see a theme here? Yes, I’m a foodie at heart! But it is the books inspired by my parents’ experiences growing up in Japanese occupied Korea, enduring the Russian invasion of their homeland and the Korean War, that have deeper meaning, bring a tragic yet vibrant world back to life.
Sadly, my mother passed away in 2019, but like my father, she lives on through my books, which have garnered many accolades including the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award, Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, The Joan G. Sugarman Children’s Book Award, Outstanding Merit, Best Children’s Books of the Year, Bank Street College, Parents’ Choice Award, A Junior Library Guild Selection, IRA-CBC Teachers’ Choice Award, and NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People Children’s Book Award.
My books have been published by National Geographic, Boyds Mills & Kane, Hyperion, Lee & Low, St. Martin’s Press, Thomas Dunne, and Albert Whitman.
I’m honored to add Regal House Publishing to the list with the publication of my latest work The Hundred Choices Department Store. Set in Sinuiju, Korea, this historical novel is inspired by my mother’s remembrances of her family’s painful struggles during the Russian invasion of their hometown and ultimate flight south, across the 38th parallel to Seoul, just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War.
When I’m not writing or spending treasured time with my human and fur baby family, I’m usually at my shop, behind the counter ‘breaking chocolate’ with my beloved customers. My shop motto: There’s a chocolate for every mood. But for me it’s always something dark and earthy that lingers on the tongue long after the chocolate has melted.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 20, 2023
Sweet story of a grandfather and a granddaughter. Love how it it shows how even if you are physically far away from each other, you can still have a relationship.
However, the grandfather is drawn too old compared to the parents and the girl.
However, the grandfather is drawn too old compared to the parents and the girl.
October 26, 2022
What a gut punch. Wasn't expecting where it went.
October 13, 2023
Why am I crying in the middle of my work day?
June 15, 2023
Grandpa’s Scroll is a powerful, emotional story about immigrant family connections and processing grief. I choked up several times reading this story aloud to my 4yo. When I shared it with my wife afterwards, it also brought tears to her eyes. This story resonated particularly strongly with our family because my wife is Chinese, and like the girl in the story, my kids have also not met their grandparents in person yet. There are a number of other similarities as well. My wife has to translate messages from her parents, including a poem written for my kids by their grandmother (like the poems by the grandpa in the story). Also, my 4yo has been painting on a tablet recently just like Lily. Needless to say, it really struck a chord with us.
As far as what my 4yo thought of the book, he said it was good and that he enjoyed it. When I asked for more detail, he said he particularly liked the scroll because it reminded him of one we used to have. He was concerned about what happened to the girl’s grandpa but felt better when he saw the grandpa walking on the clouds at the end. To be honest, I think some of the story went over his head, but it gave us a chance to talk about the concepts of death and grief. In another year or two, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it even more.
Overall, Grandpa’s Scroll is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations. I’d recommend it to anyone dealing with loss or separation and in particular to immigrant families.
As far as what my 4yo thought of the book, he said it was good and that he enjoyed it. When I asked for more detail, he said he particularly liked the scroll because it reminded him of one we used to have. He was concerned about what happened to the girl’s grandpa but felt better when he saw the grandpa walking on the clouds at the end. To be honest, I think some of the story went over his head, but it gave us a chance to talk about the concepts of death and grief. In another year or two, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it even more.
Overall, Grandpa’s Scroll is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations. I’d recommend it to anyone dealing with loss or separation and in particular to immigrant families.
July 20, 2023
A decent addition to any public library collection, with qualification. The illustrations are beautiful, although as another reviewer pointed out, "Grandpa" is depicted as he's about a generation too old to be Lily's grandfather. Which also made me feel like there was a disconnect of sorts - is this the story of the authors' relationship with their grandfather, or that of a contemporary child?
I'm keen on twists and darker picture books, so this satisfied both of those. Those are my adult sensibilities, though, and I'm not entirely sure who this picture book is aimed at. The child who never got to meet their grandparent?
A minor issue I had is the lightly implied message that the version of grandpa's life and his surroundings are superior to the one Lily is growing up in, including the scroll art vs. the tablet painting program. I don't even know if it was intended, but I read it that way.
I'm keen on twists and darker picture books, so this satisfied both of those. Those are my adult sensibilities, though, and I'm not entirely sure who this picture book is aimed at. The child who never got to meet their grandparent?
A minor issue I had is the lightly implied message that the version of grandpa's life and his surroundings are superior to the one Lily is growing up in, including the scroll art vs. the tablet painting program. I don't even know if it was intended, but I read it that way.
April 11, 2025
A really touching story of the bond between a little girl in the United States and her grandfather in Korea. They share correspondence and write about their different experiences and memories. Throughout the plot, the little girl learns more about the art of scroll writing and drawing. When the grandfather dies the little girl and her family return to his home country for the funeral and to complete his final gift. The plot of the story will resonate with many young children that have experienced the loss of a grandparent. The story is slightly tragic, but it also offers a way to find comfort in memories and remember why our grandparents were special to us. Also, the illustrations are beautiful.
December 21, 2023
GRANDPA'S SCROLL tugs at the heart in such a soul-healing way. With illustrations that convey an extensive range of emotions through close-up and far-away perspectives, this book envelops the reader into a story crafted with heartwarming dialogue and correspondence, evocative descriptions, and immersive first-person POV. This picture book deftly treasures a close grandchild-grandparent relationship despite distance, and gently handles processing grief, finding joy in memories, the power of keepsakes to help heal, and how loved ones live on in our hearts. Wholeheartedly recommended.
October 29, 2023
Cute book that teaches about an immigrant child who celebrates a relationship with her grandfather, who lives in Korea. The two of them share a special bond, with plans to visit soon. The story teaches about Korean culture, grandparents, death, immigration, and connection.
Read as a nomination in the Fiction Picture Book book award category as a panelist for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).
Read as a nomination in the Fiction Picture Book book award category as a panelist for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).
February 18, 2024
Lily lives in Washington D.C., her grandfather lives in Korea. They have been pal pals for many years but now Lily's grandfather is coming to see her in person and he is bringing a special scroll that he made just for her.
But before his visit, Lily's family gets the sad news that her grandfather has died. When they go to his funeral in Korea, Lily is given his special scroll for her and she learns how to let go by adding something special of her own to it.
But before his visit, Lily's family gets the sad news that her grandfather has died. When they go to his funeral in Korea, Lily is given his special scroll for her and she learns how to let go by adding something special of her own to it.
December 4, 2023
Sweet story of a grandfather and granddaughter who have not met, but are great pen pals. Grandpa is finally going to visit and he is bringing a Scroll for Lilly that they can finish together. Unfortunately, Lilly's grandfather dies just before the visit. They end up going to Korea instead. There Lilly finishes the scroll to remember and honor him.
Brought tears to my eyes.
Brought tears to my eyes.
August 27, 2023
I am so delighted by this book, it touches on grief in such a beautiful and breathless way, and most importantly on connection between two people, such as granddaughter and grandfather. Such a gem for young readers, bravo! What an impactful story filled with serenity and wisdom.
January 19, 2024
A beautifully written and illustrated story about a young girl and the grandpa she never met. Through letters, the reader learns about Korean culture and the lives of the two penpals. The authors handle the theme of death with care and the conclusion is wonderfully satisfying and heartfelt.
June 5, 2023
I didn't read the whole description so when the grandpa dies, I was like noooooooo. It brought tears to my eyes.
August 16, 2023
One of the most moving children's books we've read.
October 10, 2023
It bought me tears while reading to my kids.
December 20, 2024
This was a beautiful but sad story of a grandaughter and grandfather who have never met but are pen pals. He is in Japan and she is USA. A short children's story but so poignant and touching.
December 28, 2024
cried in a home goods
July 30, 2025
Beautiful book that illustrates the love between a young girl and the grandfather she’s never met. Love can transcend across thousands of miles and can exist even if you haven’t met in person.
December 16, 2023
A story about a young Korean girl in D.C. who is pen pals with her grandfather who still lives in Korea. I think it's lovely because it shows a little about how there is a relationship that bridges generations and geography. But it is a bit sad. Child and her parents travel. They come across the scroll that the grandfather started for the child.
December 27, 2023
Lily hasn't met her grandpa, but she knows him because they're pen pals. He writes to her about his life in Korea and she writes to him about her life in the United States. They write about their homes, their favorite foods, and the way they create art. And Grandpa's planning to visit this summer, so Lily will be able to meet him in person! But Grandpa dies before he's able to come to the United States, so Lily and her parents travel to Korea for his funeral instead. Lily is able to see the beautiful place where Grandpa lived and she is given a scroll that Grandpa painted just for her, with a poem he wrote for her. It's Lily's turn to write back to her grandpa for the last time.
This powerful book is lyrically written, beautifully illustrated, and filled with so much love and emotion. I sobbed while reading it, but the ending brings the perfect about of healing and closure. This book is highly recommended for libraries, classrooms, homes, and counselor's offices--it's a perfect bibliotherapy book, but it also layers so many other teachable elements including letter-writing, poetry, art, travel, and family.
This powerful book is lyrically written, beautifully illustrated, and filled with so much love and emotion. I sobbed while reading it, but the ending brings the perfect about of healing and closure. This book is highly recommended for libraries, classrooms, homes, and counselor's offices--it's a perfect bibliotherapy book, but it also layers so many other teachable elements including letter-writing, poetry, art, travel, and family.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews