Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

Say, A.  (1993).  Grandfather's Journey.  Houghton Mifflin Company.  32 pages, $16.95

Just as the title indicates, this is Allen Say’s account of his grandfather’s life and his cross-cultural experience in the United States and Japan.  It starts when the grandfather is a little boy and is going to explore the new world in North America.  It details his journey on a train ride and by a river boat, visiting different parts of the country.  It finally takes us to his favorite place, California.  He returned to Japan and married his childhood sweetheart and later took his wife to the new country (U.S.) where they started and raised their family.  He soon started to miss his hometown in Japan, so he took his wife and grown daughter back to Japan.  Eventually his daughter got married and had a family of her own.  Although his grandfather missed the sunny coast of California, he never got a chance to return again to California. 

This book will help children think about their relationships with their grandparents, and it would be a good book for parents and/or grandparents to read with their children, as they would be able to share their experiences with them.  The pictures are nicely drawn and very detailed with an early 20^th century feel to them.  This correlates to the grandfather’s age.  I enjoyed this book because it made me think of my grandparents and what they did to come to the United States.  My grandpa often tells us about what his life was like in Mexico and what it was like for him when he came to the United States to make a better life for his family.  The title of the book refers to Grandfather's journey and the events that took place as he was moving to a new country and returning to his native country to give his family the best life possible.

This book received the Caldecott Medal in 1994.

This is a picture of Allen Say.  He has also written Allison, Tea With Milk, and Tree of Cranes.