Grandparents Day Picture Books

By Michelle Sterling | Illustrated by Aaron Asis

This is a brand new favorite at our house! A young girl looks forward to summer because that is when her grandmother visits from the Philippines. Each beautifully illustrated page describes heartwarming activities the grandmother and her granddaughter share together - cooking, eating, singing, etc. It's perfect!

By Lauren Castillo

This Caldecott Honor book is magical! Grandma lives in an apartment in the city, but her young grandson is scared of the busy, noisy city. Together, they take a walk, armed with special red cape, and grandma shows her grandson how to be brave and find the beauty in the city.

By Lane Smith

This Caldecott Honor book is an amazing story about a Great-Grandparent. Memories are shared about a great-grandfather's extraordinar life through whimsical topiary trees. It's a unique and clever book and we fell head over heels for it.

By Jamie L.B. Deenihan | Illustrated by Lorraine Rocha

This is the cutest story about a little girl who gets an unwanted birthday gift from her grandma. But grandma knows that when life gives you a lemon tree, you can always make lemonade, and this little girl is about to learn that big lesson too.

By Jamie L.B. Deenihan | Illustrated by Lorraine Rocha

A little boy is disappointed when his grandpa gives him a toolbox for his birthday, but only until he realizes that his grandpa gave him exactly what he needed to build the very thing he wants with his own two hands. It's such a clever book with a wonderful message.

By Anika Denise | Illustrated by Christopher Denise

Baking is something I enjoyed doing with my grandparents, so I especially appreciate this sweet tale of a family of bears visiting grandma for a day of baking in the winter.

By Minh Le | Illustrated by Dan Santat

We love this book - it inspires my kids to make art every time we read it! A young boy is dropped off to spend the day with his grandfather, but he's frustrated and sad that his grandfather doesn't speak English. They're having a hard time connecting and communicating until the boy begins drawing himself as a superhero. Excited, his grandpa joins in and draws himself as a superhero too and through drawing, their able to finally share a story together.

It's a beautiful story about how art can bridge the gap between generations and languages. The illustrations are phenomenal!

By Alison Jay

I will buy and read every book that Alison Jay every writes/illustrates.

This one is a sweet and tender story about a little boy who has such a wonderful day that he becomes determined to figure out how to repeat yesterday. He goes to his wise grandfather for help, but when grandpa begins to share his own precious memories, the little boy realizes that each new day has magic of its own.

By Katrina Moore | Illustrated by Xindi Yan

Daisy is so excited for her grandpa (Yeh-Yeh) to visit from China, but when he arrives he seems kind of grumpy. Daisy is determined to make him smile before it's time for him to head back home and her attempts will surely elicit some giggles. A really heartwarming story - it reminded of me of a Pixar short film!

By Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola sure knew how to write a perfect picture book, didn't he?

This story is based on his own childhood. He loved to visit is grandparents, his grandma and grandpa lived downstairs, and his great-grandma lived upstairs. Upstairs Nana was his favorite and he is devastated when she dies. But she sends him a message (a shooting star) and feels very comforted.

By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson | Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon

I had a grandmother who seemed pretty unapproachable when I was younger, so I appreciated this story about a grandma who is loving, but not very cuddly. It was inspired by the author's relationship with her own grandmother and is a really wonderful story!

By Jim LaMarche

Nicky is not excited to spend the summer with his grandma in the woods of Wisconsin. She doesn't even have a tv! But when he discovers a raft on the river nearby, Nicky finds out just how well his grandma knows the river and their summer turns into a real adventure.

I especially love that this is a story based on the author's own childhood summer adventures.

By Sam Usher

This 4 book series is spectacular! There's a book for each of the four seasons and in each book, a little boy and his grandad explore the season together. Snowball fights, summer picnics, rainy day walks, and windy autumn days flying kites.

I highly recommend these books!

By Floyd Cooper

When Max has to leave his grandpa's house and go home, his grandpa promises that the moon at his house will follow Max all the way home. This is a really sweet book and it beautifully illustrates a heartwarming bond between grandfather and grandson.

By Jessie Oliveros | Illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte

This is a beautiful and gentle book that touches on a grandparent's memory loss and Alzheimer's disease. Whether you experience the pain of memory loss in your family or not, this is a really wonderful book to share with children.

By Andrew Weiner | April Chu

Fishing with grandpa is something my kids have grown up doing, so this book about a family fishing trip is extra special to us!

By Tricia Elam Walker | Illustrated by April Harrison

Zura loves her grandmother, but she feels nervous about bringing her to Grandparents Day at school. Zura's Nana has permanent traditional tribal markings on her face and she worries that the kids in her class might be scared, or even make fun of her grandma. Nana Akua, however, knows exactly what to do when she meets Zura's classmates and everyone has a really special experience learning about Nana Akua's heritage.

This is a really beautiful book with gorgeous folk-art style illustrations. It's a wonderful read aloud book.

By Sennah Yee | Illustrated by Elaine Chen

May is spending the day with her grandfather, Gong Gong, but he doesn't speak English and she doesn't speak Chinese. As they take a walk through Chinatown together, May feels increasingly frustrated. She's hungry and she doesn't understand what anyone is saying and she doesn't think Gong Gong understands. But, when he surprises her with a gift, she realizes that he understands more than she realized and they make a really special connection. Such a sweet book!

By Sandra Horning | Illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev

This is a really cute book about a little pig who wants to send his grandmother a hug through the mail. The surprise ending will delight you!

This is a great book for a grandchild to gift to a grandparent.

By Joowon Oh

This is a perfectly charming story about the relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter. Papa has an ordinary routine that he follows every day, but Thursday's are extra special. Every Thursday, Papa spends the day with his granddaughter. It's such a joyful story.

By Wendy Meddour | Illustrated by Daniel Egneus

When Henry's grandpa moves in, Henry is so excited. But his excitement quickly wanes when he sees how withdrawn his grandpa is. In an attempt to get him talking again, Henry starts a game - tell me your top three in any category - and coaxes his grandpa to begin sharing again.

By Taro Gomi

Another fun book from Taro Gomi! A little girl misses her grandma and decides she wants to go see her. Unfortunately, her grandma has the exact same idea and when they both head out, they completely miss each other on the way. It's a fun read aloud, with a happy ending of course!

By Cecilia Ruiz

Abuela and Nina have an extra special bond, and Abuela wants to give Nina an extra special gift. She saves up her pesos to buy the gift, but when Mexico changes its money system, all the pesos she's saved become worthless. But, both Nina and her Abuela realize that the most special gift of all is the love they have for one another.

By Mina Javaherbin | Illustrated by Lindsey Yankey

In this book, Mina Javaherbin shares a poetic story about growing up in Iran with her beloved grandmother. It's a beautiful tribute and a wonderful glimpse into Iranian and Islamic traditions.

By Dave Eggers | Illustrated by Woodrow White

A captivating story about an imaginative grandmother and the power of storytelling. When Grandma comes to visit, she shows her grandso how to transform into a jaguar. The reader will have a wonderful time traveling through both real and imagined landscapes in this clever story.

By Yamile Saied Mendez | Illustrated by Jaime Kim

A young girl is constantly being asked "Where are you from?" and she's never quite sure exactly how to answer. But, when she asks her Abuelo for help, he gives her a very surprising response!

This is a powerful and lyrical book about self-acceptance and identity, and the grandparent - grandchild relationship it centers around is so inspiring.

By Livia Blackburne | Illustrated by Julia Kuo

When a young girl and her family emigrate from Taiwan, she has to leave her grandmother, Popo, behind. But even though they are separated by miles, they continue to have a special connection.

This is a wonderful book for children and grandparents who don't live near each other.

By Norton Juster | Illustrated by Chris Raschka

This Caldecott winner, is a delight to read. In this sweet book Grandma and Grandpa's ordinary kitchen window is transformed into something magical for their grandchild. A must read book!

By Richard Jackson | Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Sophie lives with her parents and her grandfather. He sits in his wheelchair by the window and every day he waves to her as she heads off to school, and he's the first person she sees when she gets home. Each day they play a game together in which he tells her a story about something that he has "lost" during the day and then Sophie has to find it (and the reader can search for the missing items along with Sophie).

It's a really sweet and simple story about the joy in daily rituals and the warm and loving relationship between grandfather and granddaughter.

By Meg Medina | Illustrated by Angela Dominguez

When Mia's Abuela moves in with her family, there is a language barrier - Mia doesn't speak much Spanish and her Abuela doesn't speak much English. One day, Mia brings home a parrot from the pet shop with hopes that it will help her bridge the gap. In the end, they learn to communicate all the most important things.

By Candy Wellins | Illustrated by Charlie Eve Ryan

This is a beautiful and heartfelt book for those that have lost a grandparent. Very gentle and hopeful.

Saturdays are George's favorite day because that's the day he gets to spend with his grandmother, Stella. But one day, his father tells him that there won't be anymore Saturdays with Stella. George's dad helps him with his grief and in the end, George is able to find a way enjoy the precious memories he has of the time he spent with Stella.

By Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Not only is this book so fun to read, it's a delight to pore over all the illustrations and the contents of grandma's purse! This bright, cheerful book is one of our favorite Grandparents Day Picture Books.

By Stan and Jan Berenstain

I grew up with the Berenstain Bears, and my mom still has my old childhood collection at her house, so my kids will always associate reading Berenstain Bears books with Grandparents!

This book about a week at Grandma's house is good old fashioned fun.

By Andrew Larsen | Illustrated by Sandy Nichols

Every Sunday Eli and his grandfather enjoy bagels together. But when his grandfather falls and isn't able to bring the bagels anymore, Eli has to take matters into his own hands.

By Laurel Snyder | Illustrated by Emily Hughes

This book is a little longer than most of the other books on this list - it's more of a beginning chapter book (with only 4 short chapters), but it's so good, I couldn't leave it off the list.

We love Charlie & Mouse, two adorable brothers, and this book about a visit from their Grandpa is both funny and charming.

By Jean Van Leeuwen | Illustrated by Ann Schweninger

This is another longer beginning chapter book, but it's practically perfect in every way. You'll fall in love with Oliver and Amanda in this sweet book about a week long visit from Grandmother.

By Else Holmelund Minarki | Illustrated by Maurice Sendak

If I could pick only one children's book series to read to my children, it would have to be Little Bear. We absolutely ADORE little bear at our house! And this Caldecott Honor book about a visit to his grandparent's house could not be sweeter. Perfect from beginning to end!