A finalist for the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize


A young girl delights in a visit to her grandpa’s farm. She and her cousins run through the fields, explore the root cellar where the salmon and jars of fruit are stored, swing on a rope out the barn loft window, visit the Appaloosa in the corral and tease the neighbor’s pig. The visit is also an opportunity for this child to ask Grandpa what her grandmother,Yayah, was like, and explore the “secret room,”with its old wooden trunk of ribbons, medals and photos of Grandpa in uniform.


There is a wonderful blend of fun and family history in this visit to a grandparent, but also the realization that there can be some things about the people we know and love that will always remain a mystery.

Illustrated by: Kim Lafave