Grandma's Pear Tree

by Suzanne Santillan, Atilio Pernisco (Illustrator)

Jessie’s ball is stuck in Grandma’s prized pear tree. Worried that Grandma will be mad, Jessie tries to get the ball down by asking for help from busy relatives before Grandma sees the problem. From a shoe to a chicken, each suggestion only seems to make the problem worse. With no other choice, Jessie finally admits to Grandma what has happened. In the end, Jessie learns that working together is best to solve a problem and that family is there to support you when you need them.

Genres: Picture Books, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 16, 2010

Reviews

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book to teach sequencing to kindergarten. They really seemed to enjoy the story, especially the ending with the Grandma stuck in the tree. I liked that the book exposed them to some spanish words as well (I played them the tumblebook version so they did not have to hear my horrible pronunciation).

[Terry]

Children will laugh out loud at Jessie's dilemma, the proposed solutions, and the ending. See why in the review.

[Gina Saenz]

4. Category: Tumble books
Source: Library of Virginia
Book: Grandma’s Pear Tree
This is a great book by Suzanne Sandillan! Although I found the voice of the reader to be a tad bit irritating, the story line was quite humorous. The story is about a young boy who had instructions from his grandmother to stay away from her precious tree. The young boy gets a ball stuck in the tree and frets over making his grandmother angry. He enlists the help of several family members who are too busy to help, but offer suggestions for ways of retrieving the ball. Their suggestions end with many other items stuck in the tree along with the ball. Once all items are retrieved by grandma, she gets stuck in the tree herself! Cute!
The book would be great in a bi-lingual classroom as it introduces simple Spanish words. For those students who speak Spanish already they may find the accent of the boy quite hilarious as he tries to pronounce words in Spanish. I could use this book to introduce multi-cultures. To practice predicting I would have the items that got stuck in the tree sitting on a table before story time (using a rubber chicken of course!). I’d let the students explore the items and talk about what they are typically used for and make predictions as to how they might be used in the story.
The pictures in the book contained a bit of humor as well. The young boy’s hair seems to be much larger than his head and his uncles mustaches is just a straight black line. The illustrations throughout the book are captivating and can easily draw the reader into the story.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute. A little boy gets his ball stuck in his grandmother's pear tree. While trying to get it out, and thanks to the advice of various family members, he gets even more things stuck in the tree. Nice twist at the end. The illustrations are fun and I enjoyed the rhythm of the story.

The book is written in English with Spanish vocabulary for the various objects sprinkled throughout. This is the only thing I have mixed feelings about. For native English speakers who are just being generally exposed to Spanish and Spanish vocabulary, it probably doesn't matter. However, I would be concerned with the mixing of the two languages for children who are trying to learn Spanish. I would have preferred the story to have been written in English and also in Spanish but not the words mixed together. I believe individual parents and teachers will have to decide for themselves how they feel about the language mixture. Either way, it is cute.

[Anne Newell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great picture book. Good for reading about families and learn a bit of Spanish in the bargain. Beautiful pear tree and great illustrations of what he throws up in the tree to get his ball out of the tree. His grandma finally comes to help Jessie - all of his other relatives are too busy to help- and when grandma is throwing down all of the things caught in the tree she gets stuck and somebody has to get her out. Very amusing and well illustrated.

[Lbrown107 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe there is nothing better than a book with Spanish sprinkled throughout the text rather than having the whole thing in both languages. I cannot wait to use this book as a read aloud! It has a catch phrase that students will pick up on immediately and can anticipate when it will come, much like the one in the story Pete The Cat, by Eric Litwin. I can just hear them chanting it now!

[Tripti Kishan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 5 year old daughter found the story very funny. she made me read it three times. The author has used spanish words in the story which makes it all the more amusing and interesting to read. Its about a little boy whose things gets stuck in his grandmother's pear tree. I loved reading it out to my daughter. #Grandma's Pear Tree

Author: Suzanne Santillan

[Chelsea Emery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I did not love it, this book would be great for someone learning spanish or english. It has both words for the items that the story tells. It could be used in the classroom with an ELL to help them feel more at home and so others can learn some of his native language.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

good for reading to older kids, bilingual story time. great pictures.Maybe too much text for preschool storytime, but cute.

[Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun picture book that taught a few Spanish words in a non-threatening way. My kids seemed to pick them up quickly, and the great illustrations kept me interested.

[Rusty Gregory · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Grandpa, I need your Help!"

The story was kind of funny and my son liked to guess what would come next. I did a little freestyling with the characters to liven them up a little bit while reading.