Follow the Leader! My BiBi Always Remembers! by Tony Buzzeo

Little Tembo the elephant is thirsty!

RUMMMMMMMBBBBLLLLE!

Tembo hears her Bibi (grandmother) calling the aunties, the sisters, and her own Mama across the dry plain.

WHEN BIBI CALLS, EVERYONE COMES!

It's the dry season, and everyone is thirsty, but Bibi remembers where the water can be found, just below the ground. Mama and the others hustle toward where Bibi is digging with her long tusks where the water hole used to be.

BUT TEMBO HAS ANOTHER IDEA.

Little Tembo sees the cool shade of the jackleberry tree and decides to stop to snack on its dark, green leaves. But Mama comes back, scoops her up with her tusks, and urges her to come along, and when they find the others, Bibi squirts some cool water in Tembo's mouth.

Their matriarch treks on, with Tembo bringing up the rear. Then she notices a stork, and she can't resist giving it a chase! Storks are so funny when they run!

But when Tembo looks up, the others are out of sight! Her squeals bring Auntie back to curl her trunk around Tembo and lead her in the way the others have gone. But soon she is tired.

TEMBO HAS ANOTHER IDEA.

She lies down in the shade and when she wakes up, there are hyenas laughing and lions huffing in the tall grass. She squeals, but this time there is no Mama or Auntie in sight. Afraid, Tembo calls again, very loudly.

BIBI! WHICH WAY SHOULD I GO!

BRRRRAWW! And Bibi appears, kicking up the dust with her quick step, step, step.

COME ALONG, LITTLE TEMBO. BIBI REMEMBERS THE WAY!

Tony Buzzeo's latest My Bibi Always Remembers (Hyperion Books, 2014) describes how elephant matriarchs lead their families to the places where their long memories recall where food and water can be found. Along with the familiar story of the lost little one, Buzzeo's narrative and artist Mike Wohnoutka's charming but realistic illustrations show how elephants pass along their wisdom in the ways of nature. As Tembo whispers to herself as she snuggles next to her grandmother that night,

SOMEDAY I'LL BE THE BIBI, AND THEN I'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER.

Tony Buzzeo is also the author of her cool hit with artist David Small, One Cool Friend (see review here).

Grandma Sitting: How to Babysit A Grandma by Jean Reagan

Babysitting a grandma is easy as long as you remember to keep her busy. Grandmas have a lot of energy, and they can get restless if they don't have something new to do throughout the day. Luckily, this little girl has packed her activities list along with her pajamas as she heads over to Grandma's house.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WHEN YOU GET TO HER DOOR?

PUT ON A DISGUISE AND SAY "GUESS WHO?"

KNOCK WITH A SECRET KNOCK? IF YOU LIKE CATS, SAY "MEOW?"

WHEN SHE OPENS THE DOOR, SHOUT "GRANDMA, YOUR BABYSITTER IS HERE!"

Grandmothers need a little excitement in their lives, but they also need some exercise, so get her outside right away for a nice long walk in the fresh air.

Then it's time for some hands-on activities. Grandmas love those.

Bake some snickerdoodles and do some yoga.  Pull out your karaoke mikes and belt out some duets, Stimulate her creativity with some role-playing, like playing dress up and let her play a shoe shop saleslady while you pretend to buy some new shoes. And if Grandma seems to be getting tired, have some quiet-time activities at hand, like playing cards and reading aloud. Let her do the choosing for her favorite stories.

Get the wiggles out by taking Grandma to the park, and make sure she gets to go down the big slide. Look for the first star, and see if she remembers the rhyme to make a wish on it.

Then take her back home. Make sure she washes her hands thoroughly and let her help to make dinner. Make funny faces with the food and she'll eat it all. Oh, and don't forget....

BE SURE TO PUT SPRINKLES ON EVERYTHING!

And when it's time to get ready for bed, remember than Grandma may be missing your mom and dad, so be sure to cuddle in her bed and read her some quiet stories so that she'll sleep well all night! And when Mom comes in the morning, don't forget to hug Grandma and tell you love her a lot!

Jean Reagan's latest, How to Babysit a Grandma (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House, 2014) is an endearing look at a little girl who knows how to turn the tables on Grandma. Her humorous cheat sheet on Grandmas-sitting, (including "Places To Sleep," from a blanket tent in the living room to the couch, to, of course, the "big bed,") keep both of them busy and having fun while we presume Mom and Dad are doing the same. It's hard to say who's managing whom here, but it's a lot of fun for grandparent and child, and Lee Wildish's lively illustrations provide plenty of comic details to keep readers engaged in the whole process. This book is a companion book to Reagan's earlier bestseller, How to Babysit a Grandpa, (see review here) and is a great one for grandparent and child to share on Mothers Day.

Witch Switch: Hubble, Bubble, Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy

My Granny's kind of different.

She wears a black, pointy hat.

And everywhere she goes, she takes her cats and frogs and bats--even to the movies.

People are bound to talk, and Granny is not exactly acting like your average low profile storybook witch. Granny lets her true self hang out, as she brews up slime soup, runs errands around town on her classic broom, and makes her granddaughter's teacher's pants disappear.

Why can't she do the sort of things other grannies do?

So this ordinary granddaughter sets out to do a makeover on Granny--to make her more...normal-ish. Granny loves being herself, but she loves her grandchild more, and she makes a effort to blend in.

Granny really tries. She knits. She takes the city bus instead of her broom downtown and gets a standard Granny-type curly hairdo and a normal pet. She wears flowery little aprons.

A happy ending? Well... not exactly.

Something was not quite right. She seemed like someone else's Gran.

"I'm kind of bored," Grany said.

It's a witchy work-up on the old "be careful what you wish for" theme, in Tracey Corderoy's brand-new Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble (Nosy Crow/Candlewick Press, 2012) Granny story which affirms the tried-and-true thought that what makes the perfect granny is that she loves you a lot.

Beach Babes: Olivia Learns to Surf by Kate Boutelier and Eryk Casamiro

TODAY WE ARE GOING ON A SPECIAL TRIP TO THE BEACH WITH GRANDMOTHER.

What makes this trip extra special for Olivia and her little brother Ian is that Grandmother is taking them to the beach where she used to surf with her friends when she was their age.

It's still the best surfing beach in the world, Gran points out, and she is a good teacher, giving the two youngsters a "dry run" on the sand on their surfboards before she takes them into the waves. It's a real link between the generations as Grandmother shares something she loved as a child in the very place where Olivia and Ian first get their feet wet in the sport.

Young fans of Ian Falconer's Olivia and her Nickelodeon program will love the sturdy and bright diecut-shaped OLIVIA Learns to Surf (Olivia TV Tie-In) (Simon Spotlight, 2011), a good one to pair with the evergreen Just Grandma and Me (Little Critter) (Pictureback(R)) before a visit to the beach or an outing with Grandmother.