cover image Grammy & Sammy

Grammy & Sammy

Lisa Passen. Henry Holt & Company, $13.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-1415-0

When Grammy moves in for good, life takes on a whole new meaning for a girl and her cat, Sammy. Grammy and Sammy seem to take an instant dislike to each other, and the girl is dismayed when her pet is no longer allowed to sleep in her room. Things come to a terrible pass the day Sammy gets into Grammy's purse, strewing about the contents and tearing up her pension check. When Grammy chases Sammy with her cane, the frightened animal jumps on her head and tears off her wig. After that, Sammy is forced to live outside, until one stormy night when a worried Grammy lets the cat in, muttering, ``Stupid cat! Don't you know enough to come in out of the rain?'' In this first picture book, the inevitable adjustments and conflicting emotions that accompany living with an older relative are explored with gentle humor and respect for both sides. Grammy, who is alternately cantankerous and lovable, is a white-haired vision with harlequin glasses and a bright-red cupid's-bow mouth. Generally cozy and homey, Passen's illustrations feature big-eyed characters and the most disarming feline this side of Morris. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)