Goldie’s Guide to Grandchilding

“So you’ve decided to be a grandchild,” starts this how-to from a pink-skinned, blond-haired child who’s prepping classmates for Grandparents Day. Using Goldie’s own grandfather as a case in point, the child expertly notes that grandparents are flatulent, forgetful car-parkers, and are often flummoxed by technology. But while McElroy’s protagonist may express amazement at some grandparental traits (“they are OBSESSED with going to the potty!”), equally enthusiastic observations appreciate that Grandpa dances the funky chicken and enlists Goldie as a co-conspirator in eating “all the things your parents tell them are bad for them.” Kinkz, making her picture book debut, captures Goldie’s chatty candor with vignettes that combine scrawly ink lines with loopy crayon textures. When Goldie and her grandfather regard a parentally forbidden, multistory ice cream dessert, obtained with one of Grandpa’s beloved coupons, their eyes light up with identical hearts of love—the very definition of soul mates. Ages 5–8. (May)