Orange Cheeks

by Jay O'Callahan, Patrician Raine (Illustrator)

FOUR-AND-A-HALF-YEAR-OLD WILLIE, loves to visit Grandma's house, where the stairs are "dark as chocolate" and the dust dances in the sunlight, where he can kiss Grandma's wrinkled, crinkled cheeks and be served tea in the dining room. Grandma even has a special prize waiting for Willie. Here, in an atmosphere rich in trust and understanding, mistakes are forgiven and lessons are learned. With Grandma's assistance, Willie discovers that some problems can be readily solved and good secrets are a wonderful gift. Willie has promised to stay out of trouble on this visit to Grandma's house. "Last weekend," his mother admonishes him, "you cut up all the fruit and put it in the big bowl and poured salt on top. If there's any trouble, you won't go overnight for a year." Unfortunately, Willie (in the way of all four-year-olds) is so busy enjoying himself that trouble sneaks up on him again. But it's Grandma to the rescue, as she works her magic to restore order. The trouble, Grandma tells her daughter, "was that Willie and I didn't have enough time together."

Genres: Picture Books

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Jay O'Callahan is a prominent American storyteller for people of all ages. He has performed at numerous national and international storytelling festivals, in theaters worldwide, and on the radio. He performs almost exclusively material of his own authorship. He has recorded many of his oral stories and has written picture books based on several of his tales. O'Callahan is best known for his large-scale oral stories that present the texture of a culture and a time in history through the perceptions of a central narrative character.

O'Callahan's storytelling style is generally quiet and understated. His performances do not use props, sets, costumes, dramatic movement or instrumental music. He has a spellbinding ability to embody through the cadence of words his central characters (young and old, male and female), evoking soundscapes of seemingly ordinary life, with something epic and magical flickering just around the edges.

Reviews

[Carolyn Fickle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. Used with parenting, grandparents.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet story about the enduring power of a loving grandparent

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family listened to this as an audio recording (before that was a thing you could do), when I was a kid. Very quotable. Very sweet.