The Grannyman

by Judy Schachner, Judy Schachner (Read by)

Overview

Simon is a very old cat.  He has had a wonderful life chasing butterflies, eating houseplants, and even playing the piano.  His family adores him and they do everything they can to keep him comfortable.  Now that he is old, Simon feels useless.  Then one day his family drops something small and soft on his tummy-a tiny kitten!  There is so much the kitten needs to learn about the world, and Simon is happy to teach him. Suddenly Simon has a lot to do!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735232303
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/01/1999
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Best known for her Skippyjon Jones series, Judy Schachner has illustrated many of her own stories, including the much-loved Grannyman and its companion book, Bits & Pieces. A #1 New York Times Bestseller, Judy is also known for her spirited reading of the Skippyjon stories, for which she won the first E.B. White Read Aloud Award.  She lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This story...is a pleasure from the ends of its whiskers to the tip of its tail." -Publishers Weekly

"Schachner's warm, emotional, text is echoed in her softly colored illustrations. An endearingly sentimental tale." -School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 2-Blind, deaf, and extremely arthritic, Simon, an elderly Siamese cat, is ready to call it quits after a long and happy life of furniture scratching, plant pruning, and mouse catching. Despite his family's deep love (they even submitted to "stinky old cat breath" in their faces when Simon chose to share their beds), his independent spirit becomes depressed as he needs more and more help in his daily life. Suspecting his decision to give up on life, his family plops a new kitten on his chest, and Simon puts his own worries on the back burner. Rejuvenated, he shows the kitten the facts of life at the milk saucer and the litter box. As his nurturing skills emerge, his loving family nicknames him "the Grannyman." Schachner's warm, emotional text is echoed in her softly colored illustrations, clearly depicting the contrast between joyous young Simon (seen in flashbacks) and his diminished elderly self. Owners of aged pets will surely "Aw!" at Simon's plight and resurrection. An endearingly sentimental tale.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

From Schachner (Mr. Emerson's Cook, 1998, etc.), a book tailored to cat lovers, as those best versed to appreciate the many subtle feline endearments caught in these pages. Simon is an aged Siamese: "With the exception of his nose, most of his parts had stopped working long ago." He shuffles about the house and is treated as royalty by the family who cares for him. He regales readers with the life he has so richly lived: the "fluffy works of art" he sculpted out of the back of the sofa, the plants he pruned, and children he taught to be good cats. He supposes that the time has come for him to sail off into the great unknown, until his family deposits a bundle—a Siamese kitten—in his lap. As Simon shows the kitten the ropes, he figures there is no need to make his exit just yet, and earns the new name, Grannyman, for his parenting skills. Schachner's artwork is tender and apt, capturing nuances in the postures struck, the cock of the head, the bend of the tail. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews

"This story...is a pleasure from the ends of its whiskers to the tip of its tail." -Publishers Weekly

"Schachner's warm, emotional, text is echoed in her softly colored illustrations.  An endearingly sentimental tale." -School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Simon the cat, who was the “runt with the crooked tail and the runny nose,” has now grown old. Once he “sculpted fluffy works of art” from the furniture, but now he treasures the “many heat treatments” his home offers. He cherishes and shares memories of earlier days with his devoted family. John McDonough shares Judith Schachner’s delight in the many lives of Simon. He narrates with the respect due a feline of this stature. His voice is deep, resonating, and kind. His crafted, leisurely pace provides time to enjoy the antics of Simon’s youth and emphasizes both the alliteration and internal rhymes enhancing the text. A.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

FEB/MAR 01 - AudioFile