A Grand Day

“A million kisses!/ Hugs! Hooray!/ Our grand day/ begins this way.” Sidewalk chalk art, baking, reading, and dress-up—there’s no limit to the fun that can be had with grandparents, suggest Reidy’s declarative couplets and Cotterill’s distinctive hand-built, three-dimensional sets captured in brightly lit photographs. Featuring multiple families of varying skin tones, the dollhouse-like scenes burst with an animated energy, loosely organized to map the contour of an active day out, from morning greetings to bedtime stories. The theme of connection powers both text and image as depicted in a candid family shot of children, including one using a wheelchair, gleefully roasting marshmallows with their grandparents: “Eyes so bright and smiles aglow./ Laughs like someone else we know./ Family ties so strong and true.// Part of me/ is part of you.” While Reidy’s chipper rhymes provide a page-turning pace, it’s Cotterill’s crafty visuals that make this book stand out. Ages 4–8. (July)