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Summary
Summary
Based on the true story of one family's struggle for voting rights in the civil rights-era South, this moving tale shines an emotional spotlight on a dark facet of U.S. history.
Life on the farm with Granddaddy is full of hard work, but despite all the chores, Granddaddy always makes time for play, especially fishing trips. Even when there isn't a bite to catch, he reminds young Michael that it takes patience to get what's coming to you. One morning, when Granddaddy heads into town in his fancy suit, Michael knows that something very special must be happening--and sure enough, everyone is lined up at the town hall! For the very first time, Granddaddy is allowed to vote, and he couldn't be more proud. But can Michael be patient when it seems that justice just can't come soon enough? This powerful and touching true-life story shares one boy's perspective of growing up in the segregated South, while beautiful illustrations depict the rural setting in tender detail.
Author Notes
Michael S. Bandy is the co-author, with Eric Stein, of White Water, which was adapted into a screenplay that awarded the authors a Bill Cosby Screenwriting Fellowship . He lives in Los Angeles.
Eric Stein , co-author with Michael S. Bandy of White Water, has written for the children's TV series Star Street. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
James E. Ransome , the 2023 winner of the Children's Literature Legacy Award, is the illustrator of Granddaddy's Turn by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein, as well as the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner The Creation and many other books for children. James E. Ransome lives in Rhinebeck, New York.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In an emotional story that begins in the South during the height of voter suppression, a boy named Michael joins his grandfather as he prepares to vote for the first time. Yet when the time comes, a deputy rips up his grandfather's ballot, turning them away. Years later, as an adult Michael casts his own vote, "I knew that-just like my granddaddy-I would never take it for granted." Bandy and Stein succinctly explore a close family bond, set against historical injustice. Ransome's emotive watercolors strongly convey the grandfather's dignity and Michael's quiet pride as he reaches a milestone that was kept from his forebear. Ages 6-9. Authors' agent: Spencer Humphrey, Rocky Hill Group. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Patience, son, patience. Thats what the young narrators grandfather tells him as they wait for the fish to bite. Thats also what Granddaddy says when he puts on his church coat and tie, grabs his camera, and starts out on a mysterious long walk from the family farm. The grandson is confused until they get to town and he sees the VOTE HERE sign: Granddaddy plans to vote for the first time. Before he is able to, the deputy calls him Uncle and humiliates him with an unfair literacy test. Trudging home, shadowed in their shared discouragement, its time for the grandson to provide comfort. Dont worry, Granddaddy. Ill vote for you one day. The grandfather never does get to vote, but in an emotional final illustration, we see the grown-up grandson voting in his honor. Watercolor scenes of fishing and farm chores are bathed in warm greens and browns, reflecting the love of the older couple for their grandson. The plainspoken text offers a slice-of-life example of the injustices endured by African Americans during the mid-twentieth-century; however, even in the shadow of the fifty years that have passed since LBJ signed the Voting Rights Act, this book feels disappointingly timely. robin smith (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
This engaging picture book demonstrates how the legal right to vote was derailed for many African Americans in the mid-twentieth century. Living with his grandparents on a farm in the 1950s, the young boy who narrates the fictionalized but realistic account accompanies his grandfather, both of them dressed up for the occasion, to the polls, only to watch as Granddaddy is turned away upon failing a bogus literacy test. A repeated refrain the grandfather teaches the boy as they fish Patience, son, patience remains with him as he grows up, his grandfather passes away, and, after times have changed, he can cast his first vote, which he does with the photo he took of his grandfather on the day he was turned away from the ballot box clutched in his hand. Ransome's beautiful, lifelike watercolors show important, accurate period details, and the faces of onlookers telegraph the prevailing attitudes of the time. A closing authors' note details the sort of literacy demands that were set up as purposeful roadblocks to prevent African Americans from voting.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2015 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-This beautiful picture book focuses on a special day. Granddaddy is wearing his suit, and Michael has agreed to put on a tie. Michael thinks they might be going to the county fair, but Granddaddy tells him that their destination is even better. African Americans have been granted the right to vote, and Granddaddy is going to the polls for the first time. Michael snaps a picture of his grandfather beaming with pride as he holds his first ballot, but the pair's happiness is short-lived: after Granddaddy is forced to admit that he can't read, a deputy sends him away. Granddaddy leaves in silent tears as Michael vows to vote for him someday. The narrative shifts to the years ahead as Michael grows and waits; when his own turn to vote finally comes, he brings his grandfather's picture along. The vocabulary and sentence structure will be accessible to readers of early chapter books, and the style evokes stories told in the oral tradition. Ransome's watercolors have a folksy quality reminiscent of Patricia Polacco's artwork. Occasional backlit silhouettes accent the bond between grandfather and grandson, and details like farm scenery, period clothing and hairstyles, and a decorative tablecloth create authenticity and atmosphere. Perhaps the most notable image comes toward the end, when a college-age Michael, immersed in school work, glances backward at the old photo of his grandfather that adorns his study space. A note at the end provides historical context about voting and the civil rights movement. VERDICT A visually detailed tale of patience and delayed triumph that highlights an important aspect of history.-Jill Ratzan, I.L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJ © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this touching picture book by the authors of White Water (2011), an African-American boy learns the importance of voting by accompanying his grandfather to a polling station. Michael has learned the value of hard work from his chores on the farm and patience from the afternoons fishing with Granddaddy. When Granddaddy puts on his best suit, Michael knows it is a special day. His grandfather is voting for the first time! But when a deputy at the voting booth stops them, the joyous occasion becomes a lesson about racism and injustice. The story is subtle, skipping over the struggle required to achieve progress. Instead, the gentle "patience, son, patience" refrain implies justice will come as a matter of course if readers wait their turn. Coretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator Ransome captures the nuance that is left out of the text in his vibrant watercolor paintings. The Confederate flag flying over the polling station and the facial expressions of the white people there underscore the racialized context for sanitized statements like "some people were allowed to vote and some people were not." The final page of historical information about voting rights in the South is a nice bonus. This seemingly simple read-aloud to introduce young readers to the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act achieves complexity in its images. (Picture book. 6-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
