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LEE & LOW BOOKS celebrates its 25^th anniversary this year and to recognize how far the company has come, we are featuring one title a week to see how it is being used in classrooms today!

Today we’re featuring Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng and illustrated by Ange Zheng, released in 2003 by LEE & LOW BOOKS:

About the Book: Grandfather Counts is a moving intergenerational story about the universal love between grandparent and grandchild, a love that bridges linguistic and cultural differences. In Grandfather Counts, Helen is excited to welcome her Gong Gong (grandfather), who comes from China to live with her family. But when she realizes that Gong Gong speaks only Chinese, Helen finds a special way to communicate.

Awards and Honors:

• Reading Rainbow Selection, PBS Kids
• Choices, Cooperative Children’s Book Center
• Honor Book Award, Society ofSchool Librarians International
• Parents’ Choice Noteworthy Product, Parents’ Choice Foundation

In the Author’s Own Words:

“Intergenerational stories come easily to me.  When I was a child, three of my grandparents lived either in our house or within walking distance.  I spent a lot of time with my paternal grandmother, and I think she is the model for many of the grandmothers in my stories.  When my husband and I had children, I could not imagine raising them far from their grandparents, so we moved from Ithaca, New York to Cincinnati where my parents were living.  My father died in 1997, but our children see my mother almost every day, and they spent a lot of time running back and forth between her house and ours when they were younger. Contact between generations is very important to me and seems to find its way into most of my stories.”
–(from an interview with Paper Tigers)

Note: Andrea Cheng passed away in late 2015. We remember her here.

Resources for Teaching With Grandfather Counts:

• Reading to Kids offers discussion topics and craft ideas to go with the book.
• Our extensive Teacher’s Guide offers a wide range of teaching ideas.
• Listen to Andrea Cheng read Grandfather Counts on Teachingbooks.net.
• Make a family book and activity basket.

Book Activity:
Use Grandfather Counts as an opportunity to celebrate the range of languages that students may speak at home. Ask students who are fluent in other languages to share with the class how to count in their languages.

Encourage older students to gather oral histories from grandparents or other relatives for an oral history project.

Did you know?
If you look at the illustrations, you’ll notice that Grandfather Counts features a biracial main character. See all of our books featuring biracial and multiracial main characters.

Purchase Grandfather Counts here.

Other Recommended Picture Books Celebrating Grandparents:

A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu, illus. by Christina Forshay

Seaside Dream by Janet Costa Bates, illus. by Lambert Davis

Sunday Shopping by Sally Derby, illus. by Shadra Strickland

Have you used Grandfather Counts? Let us know!

Celebrate with us! Check out our 25 Years Anniversary Collection.

Grandparents Day- September 13^th- is a great reminder for us all to show our grandparents how much we love and appreciate them (& their impressive ability to never run out of reasons to send a card). From their tremendous accomplishments and contributions to those warm and magical memories we have, finding a reason to #DoSomethingGrand in their honor is never that hard. Freshly baked cookies, anyone?

But these special bonds between the old and the young do not need to begin and end with the familiar faces that surround your dining room table. Intergenerational opportunities for younger and older generations to come together can be found through partnerships between families and community organizations, senior centers, nursing homes, church groups, and even schools, helping to bring the community together across generations. Best of all, creating these opportunities for younger and older generations to come together has shown to have a number of positive benefits and can really make a difference in each other’s lives:

• Social and emotional:
  • Respect
  • Empathy and compassion
  • Communication skills
  • Self-esteem
  • Pride
• Physical activity:
  • Fine/gross motor skills
• Shared learning:
  • Mental stimulation
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Academic skills (literacy, STEM, history)
  • Cultural diversity
  • Life skills

But what kind of activities can the old and young do together? How do you help these types of relationships grow? According to the Penn State Intergenerational Program (PSIP), it’s important to think about activities that best match their developmental abilities, emphasize learning, promote discussion, and involve sharing skills and insights:

For example, Sunday Shopping, a book about a young girl and her grandmother who go on an imaginative shopping trip together every Sunday, could serve as a great jumping off point for many different activities:

1. Literacy/Communication Skills: Read Sunday Shopping aloud together and then discuss what you each like to buy when you go shopping. First or second reading: Download and print the Sunday Shopping Activity Sheet and use the shopping bag cut-out and items from the story to follow along and add items to the bag as Evie and her grandmother shop in the story.
2. Literacy/Communication/Fine Motor Skills: Use what you learned from your discussion and browse various catalogs, newspapers, and magazines and circle/cut-out your shopping choices with the listed prices. Cut-out items that you think the other person would be interested in and explain why you chose those items. Then, create a written or typed shopping list of the items you want to buy and go shopping for.
3. Dramatic Play: With a little imagination and some creative props, such as a shopping bag or cut-out shopping bag from the Sunday Shopping Activity Sheet, pretend to go to all kinds of different stores, putting the cut-out items into your bags. When you’re finished shopping take turns being the cashier.
4. Math: Choose a budget. Then, with your shopping list and pretend money help keep track of the total while you shop. After shopping, “check-out” and see if you have enough money to pay. If not, use problem-solving to take items off the list, or figure out how much more money he/she needs to pay for their items. Challenge: figure out the price of discounted items or incorporate sales tax; create coupons to use at the checkout.
5. Art/Fine Motor Skills: Take the cut-out items from your shopping trip and create a collage together.

Intergenerational Program Ideas and Resources:

Grandparents Day Take Action Guide from Generations United: A call to action guide for grandparents/older adults, children/youth, grandfamilies, and intergenerational programs to #DoSomethingGrand not only on Grandparents Day but all year long.

Cool Intergenerational Program Ideas from Generations United: An extensive list of over 50 successful programs that differ in style and practice but share the same meaningful goals. From intergenerational pen-pal programs, schools, camps, pet therapy, community gardens, to foster grandparent opportunities, the ideas are seemingly endless.

Intergenerational Activities Sourcebook from Penn State: 53 detailed activities and learning experiences ranging from getting-to-know-you exercises (if you’ve ever been involved in first-day-icebreakers you’ll be familiar) to crafts, writing tasks, outdoor exploration, games, traditions, technology, and more. Each activity description comes with step-by-step instructions, materials/resources, objectives, and academic/life skill connections.

Across Generations Activities from The Legacy Project: A list of activities organized by category (literacy, art, science, games, food, etc.) to enjoy with grandparents, grandfriends, and beyond.

Youth-led Intergenerational Projects from Generations United: A step-by-step guide on how to create and develop an intergenerational project in the community.

Read & Make an I Love You Book and Book Basket from The Educators Spin on It: Create a DIY ‘I Love You Book’ and book basket for perfect for Grandparents Day (or any day).

Grandparents Day Books: A list of around 40 Lee & Low books to enjoy on Grandparents Day or any other day of the year!

And finally, for the selfie-inclined, don’t forget to #TakeAGrandie of you and your grandparent or grandfriend for Generation United’s “grandie” contest!

Veronica has a degree from Mount Saint Mary College and joined LEE & LOW in the fall of 2014. She has a background in education and holds a New York State childhood education (1-6) and students with disabilities (1-6) certification. When she’s not wandering around New York City, you can find her hiking or hanging out with her dog Milo in her hometown in the Hudson Valley, NY.

Even though it isn't Grandparents Day any more, it's never too late to celebrate! Join in the fun with these Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie-inspired activities from the Mommy and Me Book Club blog.


Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie by Laurie Jacobs was the featured selection this week for our book-inspired fun! I wanted to feature a book about Grandparents, in honor of Grandparents' Day this weekend in the US. And I ADORE this book. It was a new find for me this summer.

Gathering Activity: Make Hand Print Pot Holders for Grandparents
I was inspired to make these potholders with our hand prints painted on them from an idea on saw at Second Grade Sparkle.

Materials Needed:
Fabric solid colored pot holders
fabric paint, coordinating ribbon
copies of the poem to attach to the pot holders printed on cardstock
hole punch

We attached a great poem I discovered at Kindergarten Rocks! Make sure you go there to see all of the words! We will mail these (or hand deliver these) to our grandparents since the next Sunday is Grandparents' Day in the US.

Circle Time

*We read Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie by Laurie A. Jacobs.
This is a delightful book about a grandma who comes to babysit for the evening.  She brings a bag full of fun and for each activity, Grandma Tillie changes clothes and becomes a very fun and very silly character.    For playtime, she wears a pink wig and pretends to be Tillie Vanilly who can stand on one foot and say the alphabet backwards, tell jokes, juggle and dance the Conga.  For dinner she is Chef Silly Tillie who wears a lampshade hat and makes yummy food.  At bath time she transforms into Madame Frilly Tillie who gives them glamorous makeovers during a bubble bath.    But at bedtime, their REAL grandmother comes to tuck them in and read them stories.

My children love this book. It was actually in the top 5 of their favorites from this summer.  I love the portrayal of a Grandmother who is fun and playful.  I love the sweet relationship the girls share with their Grandmother.  I love the illustrations, too!  They are delightful.  And I LOVED sharing it with our little Mommy and Me friends today.

*We sang a fun song about families.  “We are a happy family.”
*Then each of the children took turns sharing the special names they call their grandparents.
*We did the Conga to the kitchen for our next activity!

Art Activity: Tissue Paper Hats

In the story, Grandma Tillie wears several large and colorful hats.  Of course we had to make our own.  While searching for a poem to go with the handprints, I also found this great idea for hats at Kindergarten Rocks!  What a fun site!  Please go there for a complete tutorial.

Supplies needed: several sheets of colorful tissue paper, heavy brown package paper, tape, ribbons, glue, materials to decorate the hats

 Creating a customized fit!After finding the perfect fit, the children decorated with stickers, markers, and tissue paper.