Saturdays are for Stella /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

George loves Saturdays.

That's because Saturdays mean time with Grandma Stella. The two of them love going on adventures downtown to visit the dinosaur museum and ride on the carousel! Even when they stay in, George and Stella have fun together, making cinnamon rolls without popping open a tube and sharing the biggest, best hugs.

Then one day Stella is gone, and George is ready to cancel Saturdays. But when a new addition to the family arrives, George finds a way to celebrate the priceless memories he made with his grandma--while making new ones too.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2--Just because Stella is George's grandmother doesn't mean that she can't also be his best friend. Their special day is Saturday, when they spend time together going to the park or the museum and always walking past the toy store. Stella makes going downtown exciting, she gives the best hugs, and she never tires of reading George's favorite books. But one day George's parents have sad news; Stella has passed away. Although George now hates Saturdays--he has crossed them all out on the calendar--he tries to remember the fun things he and Stella did together. Then, one day, a new Stella comes into his life; a new baby sister. She is definitely not like the old Stella, but George is happy to show her the world his grandmother introduced to him. Saturdays are sweet again. The mixed-media illustrations convey the characters' emotions well, allowing readers to feel to their bones George's good and bad times. VERDICT An endearing story, and a necessary purchase.--Martha Rico, Yselta ISD, TX

Booklist Review

George loves his grandma Stella, and Saturdays are his favorite day of the week because they spend them together. They go on adventures to museums and parks, play games, and sometimes they even dress up like ninjas. Saturdays are filled with the smell of grandma Stella's amazing cinnamon rolls, which she bakes from scratch, letting him mix the ingredients. But the very best thing about Saturdays is that they always end with her wrapping her arms about George and giving him the biggest hug. When Grandma Stella unexpectedly passes away, George has to find a way to make Saturdays happy again, while learning to remember and celebrate the good times he and Stella had together. The arrival of a baby helps George heal by sharing Saturdays with his new sister. Appealing illustrations sweetly show George's biracial family and reflect Grandma Stella's appearance in George's own brown skin, glasses, and tight curls. A touching story about grieving a loved one and how to remember them when traditions change.

Kirkus Book Review

George loses his grandmother but gains a baby sister in this touching picture book about family connections. "George loved Saturdays. Saturdays were for Stella," George's grandmother, a black woman with a short, curly white Afro. Whether they spend the day out--at the park or the museum, or doing fun things downtown--or stay in and play and bake, days with Stella are filled with fun and love. One Saturday, however, the bespectacled brown-skinned boy is ready for his day with Stella, but he finds his parents (a black man and a white woman) crying. They explain that he won't be seeing Stella again. "From then on, George hated Saturdays." His favorite things become reminders of sadness and loss. But his parents are preparing for something--his mother is pictured in a maternity dress--and one day, a new Stella appears in his life: a brown baby with a light Afro. With baby Stella in his life, Saturdays become as much fun as they once were; George shows Stella everything he learned from his grandmother. This lovely story uses repetition and charming detail to celebrate life's cycles and family connections that never end. The text and cheerful pictures work together to capture the warmth and comfort of togetherness as well as the gloom of loss, which, the story assures readers, needn't last forever. A beautiful story of remembering the departed by passing on traditions. (Picture book. 4-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Candy Wellins, debut picture book author, is a former teacher with a master's degree in early literacy education. After losing both her grandmothers while she was pregnant with her first child, she wrote this story to honor both the past and the future. She lives in the Austin, Texas, area with her husband and three children.Charlie Eve Ryan works full-time from home as an author-illustrator and stay-at-home mom. She believes being a creative means she is always learning, and she has studied illustration and writing through many different academies, workshops, and classes. She lives with her family in Royersford, Pennsylvania.