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Grumpy Grandpa
Jack has a grumpy grandpa, and he calls him that, even though he’s not supposed to. But it’s true. Grandpa is grumpy—and a little scary, too. He has hair where other people do not have hair, and his teeth don’t stay in his mouth. You’d have to be crazy to live with Grandpa . . . or as brave as a lion tamer, like Jack’s aunt and uncle. But the truth is, Grandpa didn’t always have hair and teeth in weird places. In fact, Grandpa wasn’t even always grumpy. A book that closes the generation gap one little bit, Grumpy Grandpa captures childhood and grandpa-hood with humor, hyperbole, and heart
40 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2009
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 16, 2016
I have fond memories of my maternal grandfather, a tall, stocky red-headed Irishman with a friendly smile. He died of a massive heart attack when I was about 10 years old. I have no memories of my father's father, who died before I was born.
By all accounts, he was a taciturn but loving man. My only link to him are the few remaining photographs that survived my father's family's journey to Seoul, South Korea by train to escape starvation and the North Korean army during the Korean war. In those pictures, my grandfather looks stern and serious, a handsome if withered Asian man in a suit. He is not smiling, or, if he is, it is the most subtle smile I have ever seen.
My daughter, who is almost three, is fortunate to have all four of her grandparents alive, and she loves them dearly. There is a special bond between grandparent and grandchild. I think it is an even deeper bond between grandfathers and granddaughters. I have no way of proving this, or even knowing if it is true, but I honestly believe that all grandfathers are very special to grandchildren, standing as invincible patriarchs and bastions of wisdom. To small children, grandfathers can do no wrong, and to little girls, I think, grandfathers provide the first and lasting template of what a truly good man should be, after their father, of course.
Having this much power, of course, comes with its disadvantages. To many children of a certain age, grandfathers can be scary and intimidating. Perhaps it is because of a fear of disappointing grandpa. Perhaps it is because grandchildren aren't capable of understanding that grandparents were once their age, and perhaps some grandpas have even forgotten what it was like to be a child.
Heather Henson's beautiful book, "Grumpy Grandpa" is told from the perspective of a young boy who thinks his grandpa is scary. Grandpa has big scary eyes, hair growing out of every orifice, and he yells at everything---grandma, the TV, his own dog.
The young protagonist has learned to try to stay out of grandpa's way when he goes to visit.
One day, grandpa overhears the boy ask his mother why they come to visit grandpa if grandpa doesn't seem to like it.
The next day, grandpa takes the young boy fishing. The young boy thinks it's boring, and his attempts to talk or shift in the boat seem to make grandpa angry. When the boy stands up in the boat, the boat capsizes. He and grandpa are tossed into the water. The boy is terrified about what grandpa is going to do, but something startling happens: grandpa starts to laugh. The boy has never seen grandpa laugh.
Over the course of the rest of the fishing expedition, the young boy learns that grandpa was once a young boy, too, and grandpa learns from the boy how to have fun again.
Reading this book made me shed a few tears, mostly happy ones, but a few tears of sadness over the fact that I did not have the opportunity to spend time with my paternal grandfather and that my maternal grandfather died when I was too young to truly get to know him.
My daughter liked the book, but I think she is too young to fully understand the point of it. As she gets older, the true meaning will hopefully become clearer.
I just pray that she will still have both grandpas around when it does.
By all accounts, he was a taciturn but loving man. My only link to him are the few remaining photographs that survived my father's family's journey to Seoul, South Korea by train to escape starvation and the North Korean army during the Korean war. In those pictures, my grandfather looks stern and serious, a handsome if withered Asian man in a suit. He is not smiling, or, if he is, it is the most subtle smile I have ever seen.
My daughter, who is almost three, is fortunate to have all four of her grandparents alive, and she loves them dearly. There is a special bond between grandparent and grandchild. I think it is an even deeper bond between grandfathers and granddaughters. I have no way of proving this, or even knowing if it is true, but I honestly believe that all grandfathers are very special to grandchildren, standing as invincible patriarchs and bastions of wisdom. To small children, grandfathers can do no wrong, and to little girls, I think, grandfathers provide the first and lasting template of what a truly good man should be, after their father, of course.
Having this much power, of course, comes with its disadvantages. To many children of a certain age, grandfathers can be scary and intimidating. Perhaps it is because of a fear of disappointing grandpa. Perhaps it is because grandchildren aren't capable of understanding that grandparents were once their age, and perhaps some grandpas have even forgotten what it was like to be a child.
Heather Henson's beautiful book, "Grumpy Grandpa" is told from the perspective of a young boy who thinks his grandpa is scary. Grandpa has big scary eyes, hair growing out of every orifice, and he yells at everything---grandma, the TV, his own dog.
The young protagonist has learned to try to stay out of grandpa's way when he goes to visit.
One day, grandpa overhears the boy ask his mother why they come to visit grandpa if grandpa doesn't seem to like it.
The next day, grandpa takes the young boy fishing. The young boy thinks it's boring, and his attempts to talk or shift in the boat seem to make grandpa angry. When the boy stands up in the boat, the boat capsizes. He and grandpa are tossed into the water. The boy is terrified about what grandpa is going to do, but something startling happens: grandpa starts to laugh. The boy has never seen grandpa laugh.
Over the course of the rest of the fishing expedition, the young boy learns that grandpa was once a young boy, too, and grandpa learns from the boy how to have fun again.
Reading this book made me shed a few tears, mostly happy ones, but a few tears of sadness over the fact that I did not have the opportunity to spend time with my paternal grandfather and that my maternal grandfather died when I was too young to truly get to know him.
My daughter liked the book, but I think she is too young to fully understand the point of it. As she gets older, the true meaning will hopefully become clearer.
I just pray that she will still have both grandpas around when it does.
February 5, 2024
A realistic story about having a grumpy grandpa who gets a visit from him grandson and the grandson perceives him one way and then finds out something special and endearing and then it's just a sweet book about a grandpa and his grandson.
February 2, 2018
Well, that made me cry. Wish I could use it for my Grumpy storytime, but it's not a silly grumpy story it's a sweet and realistic grumpy story.
July 27, 2021
Relatable words and funny pictures to bridge the gap of years.
September 19, 2022
Very cute book. My son enjoyed it a lot and asked me to read it several times.
April 16, 2016
Grumpy Grandpa (2009) Written by Heather Henson and Illustrated by Ross Macdonald
This picture book tells the story of Grumpy Grandpa. He never wants to do anything but sit around all day and be alone. He spends his time napping and never laughs. It isn’t until Grumpy Grandpa takes his grandson fishing and their boat tips over that Grumpy Grandpa laughs for the first time. He shares a story with his grandson and he realizes that Grumpy Grandpa had his own grandpa and childhood at one point, too, in his life.
• This picture book has beautiful, light illustrations. A majority of the pages are white with the setting colored in yellow. This pleasant color makes the book very inviting. It is clear that the illustrator understands what emotion is triggered by each color, as the drawings of Grumpy Grandpa are colored in blue for sad and red for angry. Additionally, the characters are drawn very realistically. This makes it easy to relate the grandson’s family to a real family. It becomes easy to imagine a grandparent who is as grumpy as Grumpy Grandpa.
• This picture book has a very important message. Although it can be hard for little kids to believe that adults were at one point just like them, the ending shows that Grumpy Grandpa, too, was just like his grandson. He wanted to be adventurous and have fun. Old age may have made Grumpy Grandpa more irritable and sleep more but deep down, he still maintains that fun personality.
• This picture book makes it clear how important it is to not only read the words, but to also look at the pictures. I enjoyed reading the pictures because they contained a lot of information that the words didn’t say. If I hadn’t looked at the pictures closely, I never would have known about Grumpy Grandpa’s dog or the words he screamed at the guy who almost hit his tractor.
This picture book was very cute. I thought it was awesome how Grumpy Grandpa turned out to not be so grumpy in the end and how his grandson came to realize that his Grandpa isn’t as different from him as he might have thought before.
This picture book tells the story of Grumpy Grandpa. He never wants to do anything but sit around all day and be alone. He spends his time napping and never laughs. It isn’t until Grumpy Grandpa takes his grandson fishing and their boat tips over that Grumpy Grandpa laughs for the first time. He shares a story with his grandson and he realizes that Grumpy Grandpa had his own grandpa and childhood at one point, too, in his life.
• This picture book has beautiful, light illustrations. A majority of the pages are white with the setting colored in yellow. This pleasant color makes the book very inviting. It is clear that the illustrator understands what emotion is triggered by each color, as the drawings of Grumpy Grandpa are colored in blue for sad and red for angry. Additionally, the characters are drawn very realistically. This makes it easy to relate the grandson’s family to a real family. It becomes easy to imagine a grandparent who is as grumpy as Grumpy Grandpa.
• This picture book has a very important message. Although it can be hard for little kids to believe that adults were at one point just like them, the ending shows that Grumpy Grandpa, too, was just like his grandson. He wanted to be adventurous and have fun. Old age may have made Grumpy Grandpa more irritable and sleep more but deep down, he still maintains that fun personality.
• This picture book makes it clear how important it is to not only read the words, but to also look at the pictures. I enjoyed reading the pictures because they contained a lot of information that the words didn’t say. If I hadn’t looked at the pictures closely, I never would have known about Grumpy Grandpa’s dog or the words he screamed at the guy who almost hit his tractor.
This picture book was very cute. I thought it was awesome how Grumpy Grandpa turned out to not be so grumpy in the end and how his grandson came to realize that his Grandpa isn’t as different from him as he might have thought before.
January 2, 2012
Grumpy Grandpa is an excellent book for young readers who really don't understand the older people around them...and maybe even for older readers who may need a reminder of what it's like to be a kid.
In this book, a young boy on a visit to his grandpa's house wants to know why his grandpa is so grumpy all the time. Why do they always have to be quiet around Grandpa? Why does Grandpa need so much time alone if they came all this way to visit him? As the story progresses, the boy spends some time with his grandpa and gets to know him a little better. In return, Grandpa is reminded that he was once a kid and that he doesn't have to be so grumpy all the time.
Grumpy Grandpa is a great book for grandchildren and grandparents to share. As a matter of fact, I plan to get this book for my dad, who will be a grandpa for the first time within the next few weeks. (My niece is due on January 20th!)
In this book, a young boy on a visit to his grandpa's house wants to know why his grandpa is so grumpy all the time. Why do they always have to be quiet around Grandpa? Why does Grandpa need so much time alone if they came all this way to visit him? As the story progresses, the boy spends some time with his grandpa and gets to know him a little better. In return, Grandpa is reminded that he was once a kid and that he doesn't have to be so grumpy all the time.
Grumpy Grandpa is a great book for grandchildren and grandparents to share. As a matter of fact, I plan to get this book for my dad, who will be a grandpa for the first time within the next few weeks. (My niece is due on January 20th!)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2011
I liked this illustrations in this book. It was one of the reasons I was drawn to it...the pictures reminded me of old "Dick and Jane" books. Really pretty in an old-timey way.
The book, though, says it all in the title. The boy has a grumpy grandpa who he calls "Grumpy Grandpa" behind his back and complains about all the reasons he doesn't like to go to see his grandpa. As I was reading it to my son, I was a little horrified at how unabashedly grumpy the grandpa was and how ill-mannered the little boy seemed to be. I kept hoping that by the end, grandpa would see the error of his ways and take interest in the little boy and that the little boy would start to eagerly go to see his grandpa. Nope...they kind of commiserated a bit but we didn't see if either of them really learned a lesson and in a book like this, I think there is an important lesson to be learned!
The book, though, says it all in the title. The boy has a grumpy grandpa who he calls "Grumpy Grandpa" behind his back and complains about all the reasons he doesn't like to go to see his grandpa. As I was reading it to my son, I was a little horrified at how unabashedly grumpy the grandpa was and how ill-mannered the little boy seemed to be. I kept hoping that by the end, grandpa would see the error of his ways and take interest in the little boy and that the little boy would start to eagerly go to see his grandpa. Nope...they kind of commiserated a bit but we didn't see if either of them really learned a lesson and in a book like this, I think there is an important lesson to be learned!
February 5, 2016
In this book a boy complains that his grandfather is..very grumpy and gets aggravated easily. The illustrations are rather funny, like the train hitting the grandpa on the head, or the drawings, and grandpa turns nice at the end. Of course, he may be so grumpy due to the boy’s behavior which he may not acknowledge…I guess its good to read this book with an old person and a child, so they can bond together easier and perhaps they both can see each other in it…the child and the older folk. And, the children see that everyone is human and their patience isn’t made of iron, they can get grouchy and mad too, especially at their age.
November 16, 2009
This is a delightful book that will make anyone feeling grumpy feel happy. Although the illustrations weren't my favorite, they really add to the text of the story as the boy tells us all about his grumpy grandpa and how he yells at EVERYTHING (who can't relate to this is some shape or form?!). In the end though, the boy discovers that maybe his grandpa isn't as grumpy as he thought he was...a cute ending!
November 29, 2012
This is kind of a silly book about a boy who is scared and intimidated by his grumpy grandpa. The beginning of the book describes why he is so grumpy and how he acts.
At the end, the kid actually learns that he grandpa can be fun and nice, he just forgot how to.
I think it teaches a lesson of staying true to yourself and not judging a book by its cover. The kid assumes his grandpa was mean and always had been, but he never looked into the issue more. Until the end
At the end, the kid actually learns that he grandpa can be fun and nice, he just forgot how to.
I think it teaches a lesson of staying true to yourself and not judging a book by its cover. The kid assumes his grandpa was mean and always had been, but he never looked into the issue more. Until the end
April 4, 2013
This was a cute book. I had 2 grandpas and neither grandpa was grumpy. My grandpa on my dads side was a little more grouchy than my other grandpa, but even he wasn't too bad. I do remember him getting aggravated with me for playing Nintendo for hours when he wanted to watch tv. This book could be good for young kids who have grumpy grandpas, but for someone like me, it brings back a lot of memories.
March 15, 2013
This story helps the reader understand why he is called grumpy grandpa through the lens of the grandson. If you have ever felt grumpy or know anyone who is, this story will give you the sense that sometimes the reasons we are grumpy are not allowing us to be happy. Sometimes happiness and joy is staring at you in the face and you can’t see it because the anger blurs your vision.
October 31, 2011
I loved the educational value in this terrific grumpy and grandpay book
April 11, 2013
A good book to remind families that we are all human, and that we all have stories.
July 26, 2015
A young boy learns his grandpa isn't as grumpy as he thought. Definitely boring and long winded. Illustrations didn't help. Didn't like the stereotyping of grandpa.
March 26, 2017
I really just wanted to see what this book was all about. It did not surprise me at all. Terrible title. Terrible illustrations. Not so great story. Grandpa is grumpy, stays grumpy throughout most of the story, then he gets tad bit better at the end. I'm sure that there is something else WAY BETTER out there if you are look for books about grumpy grandparents or being grumpy in general. Bypass this title.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews