Grandmother, Have the Angels Come?

by Denise Vega, Erin Eitter Kono (Illustrator)

With its beautiful imagery and vibrant illustrations Grandmother, Have the Angels Come? celebrates the relationship between old and young, while touching on the subject of aging in a subtle, lyrical manner.

Denise Vega's graceful, rhythmic dialogue combine with stunning art from Hula Lullaby 's Erin Eitter Kono to tackle a tough subject with a graceful and spiritual touch.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

I've been writing since I was a kid but it took awhile to get published-I had to work at improving my craft! Click Here was the sixth novel I'd written, the first to be accepted for publication. It went on to become a bestselling title for the Scholastic Book Fairs/Clubs, won the Colorado Book Award for Young Adult Literature, and was a 2008 Louisiana Reader’s Choice Nominee. I was excited and nervous to write Access Denied, the sequel to Click Here, because so many readers have written to tell me how much they loved it. But luckily my readers have really liked it - whew. Fact of Life #31 won the Colorado Top Hand Award and the Colorado Book Award for Young Adult Literature. My newest book, ROCK ON, which was so much fun to write. Other stuff about me: I'm a Co-Regional Advisor of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI and enjoy giving back in that way. I love french fries and can't stand cheese so if you want to make me dinner, leave that stuff out of it!

Reviews

[Carmen]

This book started out sweet but quickly turned creepy.

Grandmother, Grandmother, have the angels come and painted your hair?

Yes, my darling granddaughter.
They have painted it white
so I may become more like the clouds.

Okay, that's cute, but things become more and more disturbing as abuela blames credits the angels with darkening her eyes (making her blind), covering her ears (making her deaf) and taking her teeth – among other things.

I was horrified.

The book tries to paint these things as good – being blind means she can see clearly for the first time, being deaf means she can hear a butterfly's whisper, being toothless means she can taste flavors better on her tongue – but I was buying none of this shit. I was also very upset with the book for laying common problems that come with aging on the angels. I mean, how scary! Angels cripple you and take away your teeth! No fucking way am I going to teach children this. I'm not telling children that angels take your teeth and eyesight. Brrrrrrrr.

This is a shame, I wanted to like this book, if only for it's beautiful and Latino-influenced illustrations, but the text... the text, OMG. No.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kiF3sPkyCX4...

Tl;dr – Scary as fuck. Do not read this to children.

[Diane Kress Hower]

check out my interview with Denise Vega that focused on this book. www.bookwisdombydiane.blogspot.com

[Robin Raines-Bond]

Bright illustrations tell a sweet good-bye story of a beloved grandmother.

[Mayra Espinoza]

I enjoyed reading this book as it deals with the aging of grandparents. I think it can help children understand a bit better the aging process. I love the illustrations and how colorful they were.

[Michelle]

It makes me scared to get old but it's very sweet the and the art is AMAZING

[Margaret Chind]

Simply by looking at the cover, you know that this book has interesting artistry. Flipping through the pages, it is seen that the pictures pull imagination with reality in an absolutely beautiful fashion. The colors are vibrant and the images are very pleasing to the eye. I could easily imagine a child staring at these pictures for hours and imagine mine will too in the years to come. (Due in August, btw).

The story is a conversation between a granddaughter and her grandmother discussing the effects of aging as from the vision of a child. It is an incredibly creative way to explain the various effects of aging that are not normally explained to a child. On each page, the granddaughter asks the grandmother if the angels have come and done something such as covered her ears, and then the grandmother explains yes and why to prepare her.

Each page has a great rhythm and this is easily a good read-aloud book. I recommend it, and once you have read, I believe that you will too.

[Marcie]

Colorado Author Denise Vega won Colorado Book Award in Children's Category 2010. Illustrations by Erin Eitter Kono remind me of Tar Beach but have a hispanic flavor. I didn't love this as I think it's too sweet and right out there, for my tastes. I wanted to, because I'm finding I have all the traits of the grandmother, white hair, dimmed vision, quieted hearig, plucked teeth, curved back, bent fingers, slowed legs, and curved feet. On my second read I did like the language better, so this just may be a book that I'd like better after reading it aloud multiple times. Should be a sweet bedtime book.

[Jenny Young]

Age:
Grades K-2

Genre:
fiction

Diversity:
Family

Illustrations:
The illustrations are created with acrylics and pencil on watercolor paper.

Personal response:
The story and text flow wonderfully with the illustration in this book. The words and phrases follow a pattern throughout the story which would make it a good read aloud for younger children. The story shows the relationship and bond between a grandmother and the grandchild. The illustrations flow throughout the book and it is definitely my favorite thing about this book.

Curricular or programming connections:
This book would be good for a poetry lesson or lesson about family.

[IrenesBookReviews]

A grandmother reminds her granddaughter of some of the good times they have had together. She tells her that the angels are going to come take her away but that she will always be right there in the granddaughter’s heart. The grandchild will ask a question that the grandmother then answers. It is all in poetry form.

I liked that it rhymed and showed a good relationship between a grandmother and her grandchild.

[Salsabrarian]

The traits of Grandmother's aging are represented as angels painting her hair, darkening her eyes and covering her ears, all the better to love and appreciate the little things about her granddaughter. I like the poetic descriptions of the various traits but the poetry and metaphors may be confusing for young listeners. They will enjoy the vibrant illustrations and tracking the butterflies in almost every spread.

[Terry]

This is a story that everyone can enjoy. The Question/Answer format works well and uses themes kids are likely to think up themselves. It reminds us of the positive influences a grandparent can have on a child.

To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.

[Angelita]

I think this is great book for kids, especially when the lose a grandparent. It explains all the changes they see in their grandparents, but it also gives them hope that while their physical body is gone, the grandparent will always live in their heart and memories.

[MissInformation]

Beautiful imagery portraying how a gandmother's love will endure, even after her hair goes white and her eyes go dark.

[Christine Turner]

A story in rhyme about the relationship between old and young and about growing older. www.hcpl.net

Wonderful illustrations.

[Mckinley]

A sweet book about being old and explaining why for a young person to understand.