A sweet and touching book that's worth picking up - it's a quick read. I actually didn't get to it before it expired on NetGalley but I was so interested in reading it that I tracked it down once it came out and loved it as much as I thought I would. The watercolor illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC.

I went into this thinking it was a picture book and it’s not. It’s a short graphic novel about a boy and his grandmother. His grandmother is a Jew who immigrated from America and her memory isn’t always what it should be. These two spend the day going around New York City collecting things they will need for dinner, but a lot of the stores and things have disappeared. The reader sees many flashbacks of grandmother’s life and her adventures and her not liking modern things. This was a lovely day in the life, and while I may not understand all the Jewish elements, I understand the grandmother and the grandchild. The story was lovely, and the illustrations are quite bleak, which I think fits the story. It makes one feel that time is passing and how the illustrator has done the modern times, and all these grays in browns in the past and bright vivid colors really works and helps set the story off. While I have no idea who I would recommend this book to. I am glad that I have read it and I think it has helped me grow more as a person.

You know that feeling when you start something and realize it is way more than what it appears, like a treasure wrapped in brown paper, or an unexpected hot cocoa waiting at the end of a long, cold day, or… Well, you get the gist. This book is that feeling. So many emotions wrapped up in these pages that in the end simply engulf you in this short yet profound read about family and love. I loved how Bubbe Rosa’s flashbacks and current storyline appear back and forth with colorful and gray monotones, and totally enjoyed this graphic novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital review copy of this book.

Benji's bubbe is old and cranky. During the day he spends escorting her around the city, she makes rude and hurtful comments to nearly everyone she meets. She is upset by most everything she sees: women's modern apparel, high prices, and the tattoos on peoples' arms. Nothing is as she remembers it, though, as it turns out . . . not all of her memories are good ones.

Only when she meets someone who shares her happier past do we see what lies under her gruff exterior.

The book begins with this wonderful Yiddish proverb that I'd like to share:
A person's heart is like a sausage. No one knows exactly what's inside.
(This is a fine nugget to tuck away, and try to remember the next time you meet someone who's unpleasant or unkind.)

Hanaor's novel is deceptively simple, timeless, and utterly beautiful.

I loved it.

Thank you to Ziggy Hanaor, Cicada Books, and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this beautiful ARC! I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I just adored this graphic novel of a young Jewish boy and his Bubbe running grocery errands in New York while she remembered details of her past. The watercolor illustrations show such a great contrast between the grandmother's vivid colorful memories and the monochrome greys of the present day. I loved the full spread illustrations, some with much detail and others simple and stoic. Very touching. The narrative and art went together beautifully.

It was exciting to get a preview of a graphic novel. Thank you again!
5 out of 5 stars

How can you not love this book? As a Jewish grandma myself, I enjoyed it greatly and I would want to read it with my grandson when he is a little older. It's a little challenging to figure out how this book is best read. I could see it as the impetus for a lot of intergenerational discussion and would recommend it for a synagogue reading group or at a family gathering. The illustrations are heartwarming and there is so much to unpack here. A short and effective read!

This is a graphic novel best read cold. Eleven-year-old Benji spends the day with his bubbe, a Berlin-born Jew who fled the Nazis and ended up in Brooklyn decades ago. A lot has changed in the ensuring years, and Bubbe Rosa has not kept up. When the pair go shopping, we learn about Rosa’s past and her present through wonderful dialogue and evocative mostly grayscale illustrations by Benjamin Phillips. As with a Disney cartoon, children will thoroughly enjoy this glimpse of familial life, while adults will absorb a deeper meaning. Highly recommended for young and old.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Cicada Books and Publisher Spotlight in exchange for an honest review.

The art style is super cute, and the colour choice for past and present is a fresh way to tell a story and shows the influence of the story and emotions of Bubba.

I enjoyed it, and it also broke my heart because it shows potential Dementia with a family member and working with it as they are confused and living between past & present and trauma.