Book Title: Cheer Up, Grandpa!
Author: Brandon Smith
Illustrators: Danny Constantino, Melissa Tarrao
Year Published: 2015
Availability: Click for an available copy from Amazon
As you can see by the other picture book reviews on our site, self-published books are not our specialty. I have to say I was suprised when I first found Brandon Smith’s Cheer Up, Grandpa! It’s a good sentimental read and that’s what it’s designed to be. That’s a big win in my judgement.
The illustrations do a good job of showing, as the author does a great job of “not” telling, something all good authors, like Brandon Smith, have mastered. The illustrations aren’t as good as Stephen Michael King (my all-time favorite illustrator) or Anita Jeram, but they do a good job and match the text perfectly. My biggest gripe about self-published books is their illustrations usually scream, “I’m self-published!” That’s definitely not the case here. I commend Brandon Smith for finding good illustrators who help the story move along. The pace is good, the story is sweet, the final outcome is not a surprise, but when do sweet and sentimental reads have surprise endings? This book has enough surgary scenes that I bet it will hit the right spot for even the grumpiest of grandpas, causing them to smile after they read it to their grandson or granddaughter.
If you’ve read Cheer Up, Grandpa! to your children or grandchildren, we’d love to know your thoughts on this new release from Brandon Smith.
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