Drawn Together Author Minh Lê Shares 6 Beloved Picture Books About the Bond Between Grandparent and Grandchild

I have always had very loving but complicated relationships with my grandparents. Two of them lived across the globe in Vietnam and while my other two grandparents lived close by, we were separated by a language gap which sometimes felt as vast as the oceans. While I never questioned the love between us, I do regret that we were never able to fully express our feelings to each other.
I wrote Drawn Together as a tribute to all my grandparents, but especially my paternal grandfather. My hope was to hand the book to him, and in doing so, bridge our language gap by showing him—in book form—how our relationship was deeper than language. Unfortunately, he passed away before the book was finished so I was never able to share it with him.
While he didn’t get to see Drawn Together, it makes me so happy to know that he now has a spot on the bookshelf. And I know that we both understood the love that we had for each other… because that’s just how it is with grandparents. These special bonds are infinitely stronger than the things (time, language, physical distance) that may separate us.
So, in honor of all the wonderful grandparents out there, here are some of my favorite picture books that celebrate these very special relationships:

Mango, Abuela, and Me, by Meg Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez
This lovely book also deals with language barriers. A girl’s grandmother comes to live with her family but they are not fluent in each other’s languages. Eventually (with the help of a clever pet parrot), they begin to break through the language barrier and begin the lifelong process of understanding each other.

In Plain Sight: A Game, by Richard Jackson, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
A playful portrait of a grandfather and granddaughter’s relationship, which is brought to life by the legendary Pinkney through warm and painstakingly detailed illustrations. Seriously, look closely and you’ll see that he packs so much into each page, it’s like opening a long forgotten drawer and discovering a box of small treasures. 

Nana in the City, by Lauren Castillo
When a boy goes to visit his Nana, he is overwhelmed by the intensity of city life. The grandmother comes up with an ingenious way to make him feel braver and together they bond over a new appreciation for the city’s wonders. Sidenote: I’d totally grab a coffee and explore the city streets with the fashionable Nana.

Leave Me Alone!, by Vera Brosgol
This is one of my favorite recent read-alouds. A grandmother with a house full of grandchildren needs to find a little peace and quiet in order to make sweaters for the winter. Her quest for solitude leads her into unexpected (and surreal) territory. And while the character is a bit of a grump throughout, at the end we realize that it was all coming from a place of love.

Max and the Tag-Along Moon, by Floyd Cooper
This is an all-time favorite picture book. At the end of a visit, a grandfather assures his grandson that the moon “will always shine for you… on and on.” On boy’s way home, the moon does in fact follow along almost the entire trip before disappearing behind some clouds. While the boy feels let down at first, the moon soon returns to fill the boy’s room with moonlight. Readers will understand that the moon’s warm glow represents the grandfather’s love…and will feel the warm glow of knowing that even when we can’t see our grandparents anymore, their presence is still there, shining down on us.
 Drawn Together, by Minh Le, with illustrations by Dan Santat, is on B&N bookshelves June 5.