Poetry - Rhymes, Nursery Rhymes & Fingerplays, Fiction - General & Miscellaneous, Fiction - Family Life

Grandpa's Little One

Name: Grandpa's Little One
Author: Billy Crystal
ISBN: 9780060781750

by Billy Crystal

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Overview

Tony Award-winning comedian, director, actor, and bestselling author Billy Crystal is, above all things, a devoted grandfather. Drawn from his own experience, Grandpa's Little One tells the story of the first year in his grandbaby's life. It's a year filled with tender memories of every first-time event: first smile, first swim, first giggle and laugh, first piece of cake. Seen from a grandfather's point of view, each reverberates with love, tenderness, and a sense of humor.

Grandparents everywhere will recognize themselves in the words and pictures of this book.

About the Author, Billy Crystal

Tony Award-winning comedian, director, actor, and author Billy Crystal is just as importantly a grandfather. He charmed children and grown-ups alike as the voice of Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc. and starred in the hilarious movies Analyze This and City Slickers and He recently set box-office records with his smash Tony Award-winning one-man show on Broadway, 700 Sundays. The father of two grown daughters, Jennifer and Lindsay, Billy Crystal lives with his wife, Janice, in California.

Guy Porfirio is the illustrator of such books as The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell and The Day I Could fly by Lynn Crosbie Loux. He lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife and their two children.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Crystal's granddaughter turns a year old in this emotion-charged follow-up to I Already Know I Love You. "Happy birthday, little sweet one,/ you're one year old today./ I gave you your first piece of cake,/ once Mommy said, `OK.' " Ironically, this talented comedian's stabs at humor tend toward the banal ("I'm glad it was hot out so we could/ go swimming in the pool./ I love to watch you do new things-/ all you used to do was drool"). More effective are revelations of simple yet precious moments, as the grandfather watches his daughter sharing a hug with her little one and delights in introducing the child to her image in the mirror. Porfirio's (The Littlest Angel) illustrations convey the affection between grandfather and his cherubic granddaughter. But in some images of the grandfather attempting to entertain the child, the narrator looks misshapen. The artist's other efforts, such as the antics of the affable family dog, which purloins a piece of birthday cake, and curls up at the foot of her crib at day's end, her birthday crown resting on its head, meet with greater success. Despite its occasionally stumbling rhythm and forced rhyme, Crystal's poem delivers sentiments that will likely strike a resonant chord with many grandparents. The author reads his narrative on an accompanying CD. All ages. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Carolyn Mott Ford

While this is quite obviously a lovingly written and warm story of appreciation for a grandchild who is celebrating a first birthday, there are several problems with the book. Billy Crystal is a talented man who puts his heart into this work. Nevertheless, there are times when comics striving to be serious hit that tripwire of sentimentality and the result is maudlin rather than meaningful. The rhyme here is often forced and uneven, and some of the birthday scenes are not compatible with the child's age. A one year old does not discover and play with her toes; they are old news to a baby who can crawl or walk around and find all sorts of new and exciting things in her world. Name recognition will lead to the book being purchased by adults who are looking for a present for a one year old and the story will appeal to some parents and sentimental grandparents. A CD of Billy Crystal reading the story is included.