Rating: **** 4 stars

Floella Benjamin, illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain,
My Two Grannies
Frances Lincoln.

Age: Under 5s

Alvina enjoys the love and attention of her two very different grannies. Granny Rose tells her all about her childhood holidays in Blackpool and does some morris dancing with Alvina. Granny Vero plays her calypso music and tells her all about carnival time in Trinidad. Alvina loves the time she spends with each individually but when they are looking after her together, they become competitive, as Alvina finds out while Mum and Dad are away on holiday. She ends up having to referee and compromise! Finally, she tells them to take turns planning each day's activities and meals, which leads, very helpfully to them developing better understanding of how to accomodate each other. Though the illustrative style is a little flat, the pictures do support the narrative well, making it a pleasant read.

Urmi Chana
March 2008 , No. 169

Guide to the rating system:
***** 5 stars, unmissable
**** 4 stars, very good
*** 3 stars, good
** 2 stars, fair
* 1 star, poor