Dancing with Dziadziu

This is a sweet and gentle story of a young girl's relationship with her grandmother. Gabriella loved dancing and would practice her ballet for her dear Babci who was very old and bedridden. As the child danced, Babci would start to reminisce about when she was young, and would tell Gabriella stories about her former life in her native country, Poland. She told of dancing with her husband Dziadziu and how handsome he looked in his white shirt. Another of her favorite stories was how the family raised chickens and had to paint their feet blue to distinguish them from their neighbors birds, and she then would talk about the difficult trip across the ocean to America. The book ends with Gabriella and her mother preparing to give Babci a wonderful Easter meal.The detailed illustrations are memorable. There is one of Babci on board a ship coming to America, and she's trading her Polish pottery teapot for food. Another illustration is of Gabriella braiding Babci's long hair. Each picture is a special treat! The drawings were beautifully done by Annika Nelson. This wonderful story would make a worthy present for any person who has had a loving grandmother. I still have a great memory of my Babci tucking me under a huge feather bed when I was six years old, and kissing me good-night.

It brings back so many memories of the good times had with grandparents and illustrates how special they can be in a child's life. It is truly a heartwarming story! I bought one for all of my aunts. We miss our Babci and Dziadziu very much!

I bought this book for Easter, since many teachers use this library for seasonal books for their classrooms. It's a little sad for the happy Easter season of bunnies and colored eggs, outside the Christian observance, but it will nicely serve a more pressing need. The is about a dying Grandmother, Babci, retelling her fondest memories of her youth before and after her immigration from Poland. Her granddaughter's dancing reminds her of her late-husband, Dziadziu, and the way they used to dance together. Mother's preparations for Easter reminds Babci of her mother's baking and of the chickens with feet painted blue to distinguish them in the community flock. Through Babci's remembering, the granddaughter sees Babci's desire to dance with Dziadziu again. Children often must face the death of a grandparents and other loved one and this book can help them come to terms with this inevitability.