Abuelo vivía solo/Grandpa Used to Live Alone

K-Gr 3—Grandpa lived alone until his granddaughter was born, and then his daughter and her baby moved in with him, transforming his peaceful world. His garden isn't orderly anymore; toys are scattered all over his house, and his patio becomes her painting canvas. But clearly he loves her, and while her mother is at school or working, Grandpa makes rice pudding, tells her stories, and tucks her in bed. The roles change as the years pass and Grandpa grows older; he teaches his granddaughter to drive, she makes the rice pudding and helps him to bed. Each page of bilingual text faces a full-page illustration that shows the close relationship between the two and the changes in their physical appearances, but their poses and movements are a bit stiff. Although the story is charming and the girl's evocation of her grandfather is poetic, the repetition of a long paragraph about making rice pudding over and over again lessens the total effect of the narrative and slows it down. A marginal purchase.—Diana Borrego, formerly at San José Public Library, Salinas, CA