Grandaddy's Stars

Grandaddy and Janetta #4

by Helen V. Griffith

Worrying that none of the things she intends to show her visiting Granddaddy are important enough, Janetta is relieved when he likes everything he sees and then becomes sad when he returns to Georgia.

Genres: Picture Books

Library Binding

First published May 31, 1995

About the author

In Her Own Words...

"What I like about writing books is that I can sit and think about things that most adults never think about, and it's okay because I'm a children's book writer.

I can imagine what my dog is dreaming about or what she and my cat discuss when I'm not around. I can design a time machine or make up a tall tale, and nobody says, "Grow up, Helen"--because I'm a children's book writer.

I was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and I work in the family business. We're distributors of roofing and siding materials, and I've never yet gotten a story inspiration from that. Most of my ideas seem to come from dogs I have known.

My grandfather was part of our family and used to read to me a lot-the Sunday funny papers, turn-of-the-century primers, and The Arabian Nights. When I could read for myself, I read fairy tales, dog and horse stories, and comic books by the dozen.

I started writing poems and the beginnings of novels by the age of seven or eight, but I was forty before I thought about writing for publication.

For fun, I like reading (especially Anthony Trollope) and birdwatching, and I've just started learning to play old-time fiddle!"

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a continuation of Georgia Music. Fantastic!

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

It bothers me that this book does not make sense in relation to the very good "Georgia Music," which features the same characters. Some of the wording was too repetitive (i.e., the use of the word "said."). The relationship between the granddaughter and grandafther is endearing but better developed in the shorter "Georgia Music." I did enjoy the illustrations by James Stevenson, but I find them to be too few (and some too small) given the length of the book.