How to Babysit a Grandma

by Jean Reagan, Lee Wildish (Illustrator)

Celebrate the special bond between grandmas and grandkids with this delightful New York Times bestseller that puts the kids in charge of babysitting...if just for one day. The perfect gift for Mother's Day, Grandparent's Day, and any day shared with Grandma!

When you babysit a grandma, if you're lucky, you'll have a sleepover at her house! And with the useful tips found in this book, you're guaranteed to become an expert grandma-sitter in no time. (Be sure to check out the sections How to keep a grandma busy; Things to do at the park; Possible places to sleep, and what to do once you're both tucked in for the night.) 

From the author-illustrator team behind the New York Times bestselling books comes a funny and heartwarming celebration of grandmas and grandchildren.

The fun doesn't stop! Check out more HOW TO... picture
How to Babysit a Grandpa
How to Catch a Santa
How to Get Your Teacher Ready
How to Raise a Mom
How to Surprise a Dad

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Humor, Kids, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Jean Reagan lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, Peter, and daughter, Jane. Their beloved son and brother, John, died in 2005. Born in Alabama, Jean spent most of her childhood in Japan. Since graduating from Earlham College, she has worked as a community organizer, a union activist, and a writer. She cherishes her years as a full-time mother when she also worked at her children's public school, The Open Classroom. In the summers, her family lives in a tiny, remote cabin in Grand Teton National Park where she and Peter serve as volunteer backcountry rangers. Bears visit them frequently.

Reviews

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for a baby shower gift, so I figured I would give it a quick glance through and leave a review. This book is hilarious and utterly adorable. It is the perfect, goofy read for children and I absolutely loved it. The Mom to be also said it is highly relatable, since a lot of Grandma's need to be babysat.

I highly recommend this book and it was absolutely hilarious! What a gem of a book!

Four out of five stars.

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine got this for my daughter as a baby gift for my first granddaughter. It is an adorable board book about a little girl (age four to six) who goes on a sleepover to Grandma's house with the mission of amusing, entertaining and 'babysitting' her grandma. (They do bear considerable watching after all, don't they, these grandmas?!)

Grandma and granddaughter have all sorts of fun, going to the park, dressing up as twins and generally turning everything into a creative game, something little girls are EXTREMELY good at! 😉 Sadly I had to return the book, so I guess I will have to get my own copy if I want to be ready when my little darling gets old enough to babysit me. After all, I want to be a well-behaved grandma and able to do all the things the one in the book can do!

Also, need to get my husband checked out on How to Babysit a Grandpa! Too cute!

[Farnoosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

خیلی بامزه بود:)))
مخصوصا برای بچه‌هایی که باید یه تایمی از روز رو پیش مادربزرگاشون بمونن، بنظرم خیلی ایده‌های جذابی داشت.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute book. I make it a habit to read every book I buy for my niece before I wrap them up for her birthdays and Christmases.

[Laura Turowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

My four year old requests it again and again. He is clearly storing the information in the book to use when he "babysits" Grandma.

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read aloud at Barnes and Noble. Loved it!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Идеи какво да правим с баба, или по-скоро как да гледаме баба, когато сме малки. Много забавна книжка и подходяща за подарък на баби, които за първи път ще гледат детето с преспиване.

[Leahsaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may help children bond greater with their grandparents. It gives full responsibility to the child and offers countless activities children can do with their grandparents that involve all physical ability. There isn't any dialogue that goes on between the child and the elder, but it shows a lot of expression on the characters' faces when the child takes the lead and shows their grandmother love. I think this is important as sometimes dialogue can in reality be difficult especially if a grandparent has lost their speaking ability.

[Tym · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun fresh viewpoint

[Kathy Heare Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHEN CAN I BABYSIT YOU AGAIN?

As a grandmother, I found such delight in this story and it brought back memories of the wonderful times shared with my grandchildren. It even brought back memories of times with my grandmother.

A sleepover at Grandma's house is an adventure and pack full of fun. Your parents won't even have time to miss you, because you are so busy entertaining Grandma.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really cute and lovely. The pictures were good. The format and layout of the pages was nice and I think kids would really enjoy it, especially if read with a grandma.
This would probably be a book I would recommend. I an also interested in the other books in the series.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

The young girl in this story is very lucky to have a Grandma. Having a sleepover at Grandma's house is great because so many wonderful things can happen. Make sure you read How to Babysit a Grandpa for even more fun!

Reviewed by Debbie Hersh, Circulation, Vernon Area Public Library

[Patricia Strot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun book for grandkids and grandmas!

[Shauna Ludlow Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this cute book. There are ideas of fun things to do with grandkids.

[Brighton Hulsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so silly! A kid was babysitting a grown up and grown ups know how to do things!!

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice illustrations and fun content for kiddos

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom got this book for our daughter's baby shower. Cute little premise that the child is babysitting the grandma.

It's in an easy to wipe board book.

[Emily Drake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: How to Babysit a grandma
Author: Jean Reagan
Illustrator: Lee Wildesh
GR Level: J
Lexile: 470
Grade Level: 2nd
Publisher: Knopf Books for young readers
Date: 2014
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 32

Summary:

This story is written from the perspective a young girl. Instead of her grandma babysitting her, she has decided to be the babysitter for her grandma. This book is written as a how to book. The little girl talks about all the activities you can do with your grandma to keep her busy. You can go to the park or bake cookies, it does not matter as long as you let grandma choose. In addition to listing different activities, she gives tips on how to be a good babysitter. The book goes step by step teaching readers how to be good babysitters.



Teaching Ideas:

This would be a great book to read to a class when introducing how to write instructions or a “how to” piece. I would have this book be a mentor text and have the class write their own “how to” pieces.



Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Babysit a Grandma is a children's picture book written by Jean Reagan and illustrated by Lee Wildish, which tells a story about points and tips on how to babysit one's grandmother. Today is Grandparents' Day (9 September 2018) – at least it is in my part of the world, so I thought it would be apropos to read this book.

Reagan's text is rather simple and straightforward. It is a story about how to entertain one's grandmother when one babysits her. It is a humorous tale that begins by being dropped off at grandmother’s house and ends when one has to return home. Wildish's illustrations are wonderful and whimsical and depict the text rather well.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It tells how to babysit one's grandmother told from a little girl. It ventures from being dropped off at her doorstep and the many activities one could do to entertain one's grandmother, and finally how one says good-bye to a grandmother with a promise to return to babysit her again. Each section of the book has several tongue-in-cheek advice that grandchildren could help babysit their grandmothers.

All in all, How to Babysit a Grandma is a wonderful quaint children's book on how to babysit one's grandmother and how to keep her entertained from one's stay with her.

[Kimberly Bower MLIS (gladeslibrarian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a young babysitter you know that grandmas need special care and attention, especially when there are sleepovers involved. You've got to keep them busy! First, you need to include all of the not-to-be-missed things to do at the park. Later, you will want to let your grandma choose some of the grandma-friendly crafts. Dinner can be tricky. Look for tips in this book on making the meal appetizing and delicious. Once your grandma is all tuckered out, help her choose the best spot to sleep. Don't forget to make her feel at home with a super-fun secret bedtime routine!

Adults, Reagan's delightful book captures the heart of family and encourages intergenerational relationship building. I recommend sharing "How to Babysit a Grandma" and the companion volume, How to Babysit a Grandpa, with every young babysitter you know.

[Elsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute.

[Cosette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny. Clever.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! I'm sure you can imagine all of the fun things that happen when a granddaughter comes to babysit her grandma.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought I might pick up some pointers on how to be babysat :) Delightful book.

[Rika Diephouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book.

Surprise your grandma by babysitting for her. Grandmas love to have fun with their grandkids. This is a very good book.

[Monique the Book Geek]

This is such a cute children's book! :)

[Courtney Sumrall · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loved this book!

[Meghen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Narrated by the kids, this is an informative book, explaining what grandmas like to do for fun. I would recommend these instruction manuals to all kids scheduled to babysit grandparents soon.

[Sienna Lyon-Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this picture book, we follow a young girl as she visits her grandma's house. Throughout the story, we read ideas to "babysit a grandma." We are reading through the eyes of the girl as she tells the readers; go to the park, read some books and point out the pictures, leave the light on at night. The girl adds sprinkles to her food, dresses as her grandma, and plays shadow puppets before bed.
This book is nostalgic to when I would visit my grandma. The girl is not actually babysitting her grandma, it is the other way around. But we reflect on the times that we would visit our grandparents and they would practically let us do anything we want out of love. It is a comedic book for young children, I could see someone's actual grandparents reading them this story and forming a connection.
The illustrations in this book are detailed. There is so much chaos going on in the story, but Wildish, the illustrator conveys that excellently. There are lots of colors incorporated and the scenery is drawn really well. There are lots of different small items for kids to point out throughout the book, I can't imagine a child being bored reading it.

I am choosing this book also as my read aloud because the illustrations are very intriguing and there are lots of potential areas to which the reader can change their tone of voice based on the scenario that is going on. I really love one of the pages in the middle where the girls shows how to say "I love you," without saying anything at all, which would be an engaging moment for students to repeat back to the teacher during a read aloud.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
Mom and Dad drop off a little girl at her Grandma’s house. She is there to babysit her grandma and spend the night. The little girl goes thorugh a step-by-step list of all the things you need to do when babysitting a grandma. She includes instructions on the types of food to eat, what you should play with a grandma, and how to tuck her into bed. The book is a clever point-of-view shift to that of the little girl who thinks she is really there to watch her grandma for a night. This book is appropriate for grades K to 3rd.

Activity:
Have the students create their own “how-to” manual switching points-of-view. Students could write from the student’s perspective: “how to keep a teacher busy” or from a patient’s perspective: “how to give a doctor a check-up” or from the perspective of a dog: “how to take a human on a walk.” Students may need to be given ideas of situations to write about.

Reagan, J. (2014). How to babysit a grandma. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers.