Snowed in with Grandmother Silk

By Carol Fenner

Book Overview

Ruddy's grandmother isn't much fun. She calls him Rudford, not Ruddy, and she doesn't like noise or games or television. When Ruddy's parents go on a cruise and leave him with Grandmother Silk, Ruddy knows it's going to be a loooongten days. Then one night a snowstorm comes howling through. Ruddy and his grandmother are left without light and heat and water-and they have no one to talk to but each other. Slowly, with the help of an old chessboard, the moon, and a gorilla suit, they reach out to each other in some surprising ways. Partly a survival story, this is mostly a tale of two people who think they aren't alike at all-until they have no choice but to look for the things they have in common. Carol Fenner's portrayal of eight-year-old Ruddy is childlike and real, and Amanda Harvey's full-color illustrations capture the warmth and humor of a story that is sure to leave readers smiling. Illustrated by Amanda Harvey.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803728573
• ISBN13: 9780803728578
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Dial Books
• Length: 75 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.3" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 7 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 6

Customer Reviews

What a lovely little story

This is one of those books that pulls at your heartstrings without being maudlin or overly in-your-face with sentimentality. It's nice to see a grandmother depicted in a children's story who is not the chubby, white-haired, sensibly-shoed, cookie-baking, story-reading archetype. Ruddy's grandmother wears furs and has perfectly coiffed hair. She doesn't know how to relate to a young boy, nor he to her. When they get snowed in together and have to rely on their own smarts to stay fed, warm, and entertained, they each have the opportunity to see another side of -- and appreciate -- the other. I love children's books that don't over explain or hit you on the head with a "Moral of the Story anvil." This book avoids that while still making its point, and with far more depth than so many kids' books today.