Go, Grandpa, Go!

In this book, each page is a scene with a different grandfather and grandchild illustrated in bright colors, creating a celebration of grandfathers and the special relationship they have with grandchildren. Except for three pages, every illustration is accompanied by two lines of text that rhyme and the repeated mantra of “Go, Grandpa, go!,” until the final page showing a grandfather and child reading together with an unwinding “Whoa, Grandpa, whoa.” The first page oddly starts with a different a flow—“Zig! Zag! Zip! Zoom!”—while two pages contain near rhymes like “beep / street”. The grandparents and grandchildren in the story are diverse in age, ethnicity, and activity level—some pages show a grandfather and grandchild playing with toy cars or grocery shopping, while others show a grandpa walking with a grandchild on his shoulders, jumping in puddles, or riding home from the library on a bicycle, Each instance is beautifully portrayed by Beer’s simple but cheerful illustrations, and details like a wheelchair-turned-rocketship shine off the vivid pages. In comparison to its companion, Go, Grandma, Go!, this title’s illustrations are not as detailed and its text is lacking in cadence and original rhymes, yet the noteworthy recognition of grandfather and grandchild relationships still successfully permeates its playful pages.