Eighteen Flowers for Grandma - by Alison Goldberg (Hardcover)

About the Book

Sadie's grandmother is studying art and invites Sadie to learn and share her passion. But Sadie's grandmother passes on more than her love of art to her grandchild; she also shares her knowledge of Jewish cultural traditions.

Book Synopsis

A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Book of the Year 2024

A celebration of family, culture, and the enduring bond between generations
Sadie's grandmother is studying art and invites Sadie to learn and share her passion. But Sadie's grandmother passes on more than her love of art to her grandchild; she also shares her knowledge of Jewish cultural traditions. Sadie learns about the meaning of "chai"--the Hebrew word for life--and the significance of the lucky number eighteen. Her grandmother will soon graduate from college, so Sadie commits herself to finding a perfect way to celebrate with a gift that combines her love of art and newly learned traditions. Readers will appreciate the relationship at the heart of the story in which a passion for art and cultural traditions are lovingly shared between the generations. Eighteen Flowers for Grandma is where love, tradition, and creativity intersect; it will leave an indelible mark on the hearts of readers young and old. Backmatter includes additional information about several Jewish cultural references found in the book, the Hebrew alphabet, and a note about the author's inspiration for the story.

Review Quotes

100 Best Multicultural Picture Books of 2024 -"A gorgeous celebration of family, culture, and the enduring bond between generations."

-- "Colours of Us" (12/2/2024 12:00:00 AM)

In Eigh­teen Flow­ers for Grand­ma, a young girl, Sadie, com­mits to find­ing the per­fect expres­sion of grat­i­tude for her artist grand­moth­er. . . Just as Ali­son Gold­berg nar­rates Sadie's devel­op­ment as an artist, Jesse White visu­al­izes it in col­or­ful, flow­ing images. . . Sadie's facial expres­sions demon­strate her var­i­ous moods. In oth­er scenes, the young artist is drawn at dif­fer­ent angles, occu­py­ing dif­fer­ent sec­tions of the page. White also inte­grates tra­di­tion­al Jew­ish designs of paper cut­ting through­out the book . . . This high­ly rec­om­mend­ed book includes an author's note, back­ground infor­ma­tion, and a chart of the Hebrew alphabet. Emi­ly Schnei­der

-- "Jewish Book Council" (1/20/2025 12:00:00 AM)

"A child seeks the perfect gift for her grandmother's upcoming college graduation. A gentle tale of intergenerational bonding that will appeal to budding artists."-- "Kirkus Reviews" (7/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"Alison Goldberg and Jesse White have achieved a picture-book trifecta: Eighteen Flowers for Grandma is a stirring ode to intergenerational family bonds, a gentle introduction to a Jewish custom, and an up-close look at the artistic process. . . Sadie's art-making process is captured both in the text and in White's elegant illustrations, which prioritize lilac, chartreuse, and vegetal greens and, per the book's back matter, incorporate the artist's "own take" on Jewish paper-cutting, a "traditional form of Jewish folk art... made by cutting figures and sentences from paper or parchment." It all adds up to a soothingly nutritive reading experience. Too bad Sadie can't give Grandma Eighteen Flowers for Grandma, a fine choice for anyone looking to give the gift of chai." --Nell Beram, freelance writer and YA author-- "Shelf Awareness" (10/22/2024 12:00:00 AM)

A Best Book of the Year, 2024-- "Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature" (12/11/2024 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

ALISON GOLDBERG is a writer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the author of I Love You for Miles and Miles. She also wrote the award-winning nonfiction picture book Bottle Tops, a biography of the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui. Eighteen Flowers for Grandma was inspired by her own grandmother, who graduated from college at the age of seventy-eight. You can visit Alison online at alisongoldberg.com. JESSE WHITE is an illustrator, author, and muralist who creates whimsical, wonder-filled work about imagination and adventure. Nature is her core throughline, a focus that comes from her childhood in rural North Carolina. Jesse graduated with a BFA in studio art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her master's in art education from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her first author-illustrator project, Brave Like Fireweed, is due out from Union Square Kids. She lives in Durham, North Carolina. Visit Jesse online at www.jessewhiteillustration.com.