Illustrations by Stephen Gammel
This is a fun story about a grandfather who shows another side of himself to his young grandchildren. He leads them up to his attic and puts a show on for them, just like he used to do back when he was a song and dance man. Gammel's unique style of illustration combines perfectly with Ackerman's story to recreate the wondrous experience of the grandchildren to the reader.
It is for people, especially young children, to take their grandparents at face value. We forget that they were once young too, and did all sorts of fun interesting that we have no clue about. I really like the how the children of this story come to appreciate their grandfather, thinking that he is way more entertaining than any tv show.
This would be a good book to use in the first grade, when much of the social studies curriculum is centered around the idea of family. Students could do a family research project, and interview a family member that they don't know a lot about. They could share their findings with the class, bringing photos and objects from the family member's past. It would be a great learning experience for the young students.
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