Grandma’s Hurrying Child

When my first grandchild, Maddison Jane Piatt, was born, I hurried across many states in a plane and then a taxi and made it with two hours to spare. I had been there at my daughter’s house the week before, helping her and her partner set up the baby’s room. We thought we had at least several weeks more. Certainly the doctor thought she wasn’t coming out soon. But babies arrive on their own time table. So there I was hurrying back. As I watched 8 pound 11 oz newborn Maddison sleeping, a picture book about her birth began to form in my sleep-deprived brain. When I got home a week and a half later, I started to work on it. Now, many publishers and several editors at the final publishing house later, the book is finally out and Maddison is just turning ten. Books, like babies, have their own time tables.

What reviewers have said:

• “This is a tale of that most special time for a grandparent, when they see their grandchild for the first time. A delightful story that grandmas will love to read to their grandchildren over and over again.” — KidsBookshelf
• “Details of Maddy’s birth are presented side by side with highlights of Grandma’s trip. The ‘meanwhile’ narrative structure adds interest, as do certain visual details (especially the doll that is old and well-loved in the preschooler’s arms, but fresh out of the box, curly hair intact, before that child is born). . Chorao’s watercolors are pretty and accessible, and the poetic text capitalizes on children’s interest in their own history.” –School Library Journal
• “Tell me about the day I was born.” Yolen takes that simple sentence and weaves a gentle tale of love and caring between a grandmother and her grandchild. . .” Chorao’s soft pastels soften the tension as one page shows the parents and the facing page shows the grandmother-all rushing to their places. Then she uses diagonals across two double-spreads, bringing the action even closer together. A sweet addition to the genre.” –Kirkus
• “This is the story of that special, perfect day when Grandma embraces her sweet hurrying child for the very first time. Master storyteller Jane Yolen and renowned illustrator Kay Chorao, both loving grandmas, have teamed up to create a warm read-aloud that children and their grandparents will want to share again and again.”–Eloquence