September – Booklist
In the United States the first Sunday of September following Labor Day has been set aside to celebrate grandparents. Grandparents play a special role in the lives of their grandchildren and in society, sharing wisdom and love. Whether your experience as a grandparent is traditional, out of the ordinary, or in the future, enjoy this list of books all about nanas and papas, gramps and grannies, or grandpas and grandmas!
Nonfiction
Chicken Soup for the Grandparent’s Soul by Jack Canfield
Children and grandchildren will relive memories of their parents and grandparents as they read stories of love, humor and wisdom. Each tale inspires you to make the most of the time you still have together.
The Grandparent Guide: The Definitive Guide to Coping with the Challenges for Modern Grandparenting by Arthur Kornhaber
This guide, written by a medical doctor, who is also a child and family therapist, offers advice on the role grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren, as well as changes in that role as people live longer.
Becoming Grandma: The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting by Lesley Stahl
60 Minutes reporter reflects on the changes in her life after becoming a grandmother and shares stories she gathered while investigating the impact of grandparenthood on women. Contains celebrity and expert interviews.
Making Toast: A Family Story
Prize-winning essayist Rosenblatt discusses the sudden death of his thirty-eight-year-old daughter Amy, which led him and his wife Ginny to move in with their three young grandchildren and son-in-law. Some strong language.
Fiction
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Heidi loves her old grandfather and their simple life high in the Swiss Alps. When she is sent to the city to be a companion to the ailing Klara, Heidi almost dies from homesickness. Although this book has long been a children’s classic it remains beloved by people of all ages.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrick Backman
Seven-year-old Elsa is acknowledged as weird. But the grandmother she lives with is flat-out wild, as she shares tales of the fairyland of Miamas. When her grandmother dies, Elsa is entrusted with delivering letters of apology and learns about her place in the world.
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn, Phan Quế Mai
The trials and joys of the Trà̂n family in Việt Nam unfold through the decades. Family matriarch Trà̂n Diệu Lan flees with her six children as the communist government rises in the north. Years later, she cares for granddaughter Hương as family members engage in war.
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
First published in 1841, Dickens’s sentimental novel features Little Nell and her adoring grandfather who gambles away the last of their funds in an attempt to extricate himself from his debts and loses their precious curiosity shop.
Image Description: A cartoon drawing of grandparents walking hand in hand with a grandson and granddaughter down a garden path lined with flowers.