Home Life in Grandma's Day

I read all of these books to my first and second grade class! One of the kids asked if they could write their own. This led to the children interviewing Grandparents or Seniors in their families. The interviews were published and displayed with old photos, artifacts,etc. Now the children have an interest in history I would never have anticipated before. It also prompted some wonderful family discussions. Nice spin-off. Hats off to the author!

I enjoy the concept of the "In Grandma's Day" series. By looking at the childhood of real people born in the 1930'2 and early '40's, history takes on more meaning for children. The photographs for the most part are accurate and interesting. I do have concern with one photo in this book. According to the text, the Afro-American family in this book only had a wood-burning stove, yet one of the photos shows a girl at an electric stove. Despite this mistake, readers will be surprised at the life of a black family in the 1930' s and 1940's. Geneva talks about her community with love. Her parents had to work hard to make a living and she and her sister were expected to work hard cleaning and cooking at home. Church was an important part of their family life. Movies were much more fun though for the kids. Of the four books I've seen in this series, this is the only book about growing up in a minority race.