Product Description

Bobby is named after his grandfather, Bob. Bob helps Bobby learn to walk, teaches him to build a block tower, and tells him stories. One day Bobby comes home and his grandfather isn’t there. Bobby’s parents tell him that his grandfather is sick and he doesn’t remember who anyone is. At first Bobby is scared, but when he builds a block tower for Bob the way they used to do together, he knows that his grandfather remembers him. Slowly Bob starts to get better, and then it’s Bobby’s turn to teach his grandfather something important. . . . Readers of all ages will relish in this classic, now in beautifully rich full color.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31549 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

Review
The tone is gentle and the illustrations are, as usual, first-rate. -- School Library Journal

About the Author
Tomie dePaola lives in New London, New Hampshire.

Customer Reviews

A wonderful book for helping your young child
Such a wonderful book! It comes at a time for our family when Grandma's health is declining. For our daughter who is nearly three, Grandma seems a bit scary, since she doesn't look and act quite like herself. When we visit Grandma, she tends to moan a bit, which is very frightening to our toddler.

This beautiful story is about a boy named Bobby and his Grandfather, Bob, who lives with Bobby and his parents. They have a lovely relationship; they spend lots of time together, building with blocks and sharing stories. Bobby especially likes for Bob to tell him the story about how Bobby learned to walk... ''Now one foot, now the other.''

When Bobby is 5 years old, Bob has a stroke, and the little boy is frightened by the changes in his grandfather. Once Bob finally gets home from the hospital, he doesn't seem to recognize Bobby. The first sound Bob tries to make ''sounds like a monster'' to Bobby, but Bobby learns to understand Bob and, through love and persistence, is instrumental in Bob's recovery.

I'm sure that this book will help my daughter to understand why Grandma isn't quite herself. Hopefully, our visits to see Grandma will be less stressful for her (and for me). After reading this story to my toddler at least dozen times (we received this book in the mail just three days ago), I can finally keep from tearing up until the very last page. I highly recommend this lovely book!

Beatriz and Constantin's review
This book was a revelation for me. It remained me about my grandfather and made me cry. I was very touched and asked Constantin, my 7 year old son, to read it. His own grandfather is very fragile, and he inmediately understood what the book was about: how even a little child can help his grandfather, who is ill after a stroke, and somehow be thankful for all of the things grandpa did to help him while he was growing up. The best part is when grandpa gets well again and they share their memories. We first read this book in Spanish, and liked it so much that want to order it in English. We are learning to love Tomie de Paola books.

Excellent Book to Explain about Illness to Children
We borrowed this book from the library, so I didn't know what to expect, but towards the middle, I figured out what was going to happen, and got all choked up. My daughter kept turning over to me, since I had to whisper, so I wouldn't cry (my dad had recently gone through 4 months of illness which almost took his life). It definitely explains "stroke" well in simple words, deals with the emotions of the family, and discusses how to care for an ill person. It does have a positive ending, so keep that in mind, in case you're dealing with a possible death. It's very well written, tugs at the heart strings, and the important parts really come through.