Grandpa Across the Ocean

by Hyewon Yum (Author) Hyewon Yum (Illustrator)

Grandpa Across the Ocean
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Though separated by language, age, and an ocean, a child and grandparent find common ground in this warm, witty picture book Grandpa lives on the other side of the ocean.

He takes naps all the time. He eats different foods. He speaks an unfamiliar language. His house is the most boring place on Earth! Or is it? A little time together just might reveal that Grandpa is also a great singer, an energetic sandcastle builder, and a troublemaker . . . just like his grandson!

With her signature warmth and humor, award-winning author-illustrator Hyewon Yum shares the challenges and joys of having a relative who lives far away--proving that even from across the ocean, the grandparent-grandchild relationship is a very special one.

Select format:
Hardcover
$16.99

Kirkus Reviews

With warmhearted care, [a] child is helped through the adjustment of having a relationship with a loving relative who lives across the ocean. Illustrated with colored pencil, the scenes are light and filled with patience and love.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

A Korean American child with short black hair and dot eyes struggles to adjust to South Korea when visiting Grandpa, a bespectacled elderly man. Different customs ("When I say 'Hi,'/ Grandpa bows"), language barriers ("I can't quite understand what he says,/ and he can't hear me well"), and unfamiliar food ("Grandpa eats things I don't want to eat") unmoor the child, but an accident soon sets the duo on a path toward understanding ("But with Grandpa, I don't need to say the word for what I want most./ He already knows"). Charming colored-pencil illustrations are punctuated with a few basic Korean words as the narrator and Grandpa embark on market and beach excursions, and grow closer. Told in a pitch-perfect kid voice with a satisfying narrative arc, Yum's sweetly comedic picture book will resonate with any reader who has experienced diasporic--or generational--tension with an older relative. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 
Hyewon Yum

Hyewon Yum is the critically acclaimed author of several previous picture books. Of The Twins' Blanket, Publishers Weekly said in a starred review that "Yum's third picture book shows the author/illustrator thoroughly at home with the picture book form." She studied painting and printmaking at Seoul National University in South Korea. She received her master of fine arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and presently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781419742255
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date
April 20, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV068000 - Juvenile Fiction | Travel
Library of Congress categories
Grandfathers
Korea

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