This grandma gets it. She's so incredibly patient with her grandchildren. She plays with them and entertains them. After she makes several corrections, she starts getting annoyed until they finally push her over the edge. They left a huge mess all over the house, so she makes them all sit silently on the couch. After a long while, the kids ask why she's doing this. The grandma simply replies she's waiting. The kids ask what she's waiting for and claims she doesn't know. After a while longer, the kids suddenly begin cleaning on their own volition. Grandma helps then takes them for ice cream. Everyone was happy. ( )

In Grandma Gets Grumpy, five cousins discover that, despite always letting them get away with more, grandma can get just as grumpy as mom and dad. ( )

Summary:
Grandma offers to take care of her grandchildren Lassen, Kevin, Brian, Casey, and Michelle while her children go out for the night. The story begins with Lassen playing around at Grandma's house, although her mother and father scold her for running in Grandma's house and jumping around on the sofa. Lassen is excited for her cousins to come visit so they can all play together. They begin making a huge mess, and knocking into things, so Grandma begins to get overwhelmed, or "grumpy." Grandma finally gets to the point where she shouts at her grandchildren. The children pause for a second, then they all begin to clean up, along with Grandma's help. It is eventually time for bed, and Grandma reads them three stories. They are all happy and want to visit Grandma again.

The central message of this book is to monitor your behavior and respect your elders. I really enjoyed this book, because it is so relatable. I remember being a young child and playing with my cousins at family events. it would be chaotic and we would be having so much fun, but eventually our parents would tell us to settle down and clean up. We knew not to argue and obey them. So many children can relate since they may play with their siblings/cousins. I like how the book began with the parents scolding Lassen, and then ended with Grandma reiterating the same things. For instance, Lassen's mother told her "the sofa is for sitting on!" and then at the end when Grandma was frustrated, she yelled "the sofa is for sitting on!" It is relevant that Grandma and her daughter are similar in that they used the same disciplinary 'sayings.' I also like how the book used a mixture of pastel and crayons; the illustrations were very detailed, especially the expressions of Grandma when she was upset. ( )