School Library Journal Review
PreS-Wonderful for quiet lap-sit storytimes with small children, this two-for-one picture book is split in half to tell the same simple story twice. With just a few words per page, the text communicates big concepts succinctly through lively ink-and-watercolor illustrations that differentiate one kind of fun from another. "Grandpas can paint with you" presents young readers with a seriously artistic, oil-and-easel grandfather pig, for example. But a visit with a grandmother gerbil on the other side of the book demonstrates another way to paint altogether. These warm, cheerful vignettes are sure to resonate with children. Many kinds of loving families appear throughout each 17-page story; elephants, dogs, monkeys, and frogs all share quality time with their loving relatives. Children will enjoy noticing the different ways to dance, have a picnic, or make a hat, and while they may find turning the book around to locate them a little awkward, it's a small price to pay for this charming introduction to the special times shared with grandparents.-Catherine T. Quattlebaum, DeKalb County Public Library, Atlanta, GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This companion to the immensely likable What Mommies Do Best/ What Daddies Do Best is another two-in-one book: after finishing "What Grandmas Do Best," readers can flip the book over to find "What Grandpas Do Best." Again, Numeroff's straightforward text is identical for both segments (both grandmas and grandpas can "play hide-and-seek, make you a hat, and take you for a walk"). The fun lies in Munsinger's magnificently anthropomorphized animals, and the way each grandparent puts his or her spin on the words: Grandma Cat knits her grandkitten a fetching snow hat, while Grandpa Guinea Pig fashions a chapeau out of newspapers, tape and glue. Perhaps because her lead characters are senior citizens, this book is more subdued in tone than its predecessor; Numeroff seems not to have mined her considerable imagination as deeply for comic contrasts (both expected and unexpected) between male and female grandparents. Still, every spread radiates with the gentle and abiding affection that connects the generations. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
