School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-A sweet, simple story with a heartwarming message. When Katie visits Grandma for Thanksgiving, she accidentally breaks her cherished gravy boat. As Katie bursts out crying, her grandmother quickly whisks her away to the guest room where she keeps her "memory cupboard," a special place full of beloved things that have become worn out or broken through the years. Each item has a story, and Grandma's loving reassurance comforts the child and allows her to see that things may get broken, but granddaughters are forever. Realistic acrylic illustrations depict a loving family happy to be gathering at Grandma's. A pleasant addition to holiday collections.-Teri Markson, Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School, Los Angeles (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
When Katie breaks the gravy boat (a childhood gift from Katie's mother to her grandmother) while clearing the Thanksgiving table, her grandmother shows Katie a "memory cupboard" crammed with other meaningful broken objects. Herman's (the Max Malone books) message focuses on forgiveness-stressing that people matter more than things-but the slow, stilted narrative serves only to deliver the moral, not to develop the characters. Stahl (The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh) portrays a certain warmth between Katie and her grandmother, but the other characters look stiff, the compositions static. Ages 6-9. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
