Grandloving, One of the Best Grandparent Books

Packed full of good advice and creative activities, this is a book to be read, not merely browsed, and it should be read with highlighter or index tabs in hand, so that you can find favorite parts again. The advice is sound, and you're guaranteed to find some activities that will appeal to you and to your grandchildren. I'll admit, however, that there were some that sounded to me like far too much work for the payoff. Still, it is one of the better grandparent books on the market, holding its own with more recent entries in the field.

One thing the world doesn't have enough of is grandparent books. This one is a bit of a grandparent itself, having been around since 1996. The product of a collaboration between a mother-in-law, a daughter-in-law and several hundred contributors, the book predictably has something for everyone. Just as predictably, every activity is not suited for every reader. I'm fairly sure that I will never make sawdust sculptures with my grandchildren, but I can't wait to send my grandson a letter in code.

Chapter topics include becoming a grandparent, holiday traditions and long-distance grandparenting. Each chapter is filled with advice from the two authors and their contributors and followed by directions for special activities appropriate to the subject of that chapter. Icons indicate the type of activity. Personally, I'm not a fan of icons; it takes me longer to decipher the icon than it does to read a few words, but perhaps others like them.

I am a fan of old-fashioned fun, and I like the fact that the authors included lots of simple activities that I remember from my children's early years, and even from my own. Making a whizzer from a button and string, cutting out paper doll chains and playing Simon Says are simple ways to have fun that this book reminded me of. I also like the science activities, such as putting a flashlight in a tightly closed glass jar and submerging it in a pond or lake at night. I can't wait to try that on our next camping trip with the grandchildren.

The book is infused with philosophical tidbits that really resonate with me, but the one I appreciate most comes at the very end of the book when the authors express their hope that family closeness and love will "lead someday to a local, national and world community that takes the time to support and enjoy the uniqueness of each person." That sounds to me like a grandparent's fondest dream.