About the Author

Eloise Greenfield has published many children's books, including picture books, novels, poetry, and biographies. Mrs. Greenfield has won many awards for her writing, including the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, given by the National Council of Teachers of English. In 1999 she became a member of the National Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent.Mrs. Greenfield was born in North Carolina and grew up in Washington, D.C., where she continues to live. She has a son, a daughter, and four grandchildren.

Reviews

Praise for Grandpa's Face

“Muted realistic paintings complement this story of Tamika, a young girl who grows emotionally through love . . . The carefully chosen combination of visual details and large abstract areas support the notion that love is not always clearly definable.”—School Library Journal

“Poet Greenfield tells this warm family story with tenderness and grace, and Cooper makes an outstanding debut. The realistic, full-color double spreads are rich in earth tones and vibrant colors . . . A treasure to set beside [Ann Herbert] Scott’s Sam.”—Kirkus Reviews 

"With eloquence and a penetrating glimpse of the fears of children, Greenfield has written a moving story about the reliability of love. Cooper . . . creates family scenes of extraordinary illumination."—Publishers Weekly

"Children resist change. When Grandfather must transform his facial expressions while rehearsing for a community theater production, his granddaughter worries about the man behind the new face."—Children's Literature

★''Evocative text and striking pictures ... rich visual images." --School Library Journal, starred review

PreS-Gr 2 Muted realistic paintings complement this story of Tamika, a young girl who grows emotionally through love. Tamika loves her Grandpa, and at the theater she watches him turn ``into another person.'' While he is practicing in a mirror, however, she sees a part of his personality that she does not understand, and it frightens her. ``It was a hard face. . . . It was a face that could never love her or anyone.'' These are powerful words that evoke an unforgettable and horrible visual image, and Tamika acts out her inner turmoil at a catastrophic family dinner scene. Striking, in text and illustration, is the moment when Grandpa catches up with Tamika, and gently all is resolved. Greenfield's other books, Grandmama's Joy (Philomel, 1980) and Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems (Crowell, 1978), like the works of Ezra Jack Keats, Sharon Bell Mathis, Jeannette Caines, and Charlotte Zolotow, are strong statements about love. The black characters in Grandpa's Face do not serve any didactic purpose; they simply love and grow. The carefully chosen combination of visual details and large abstract areas support the notion that love is not always clearly definable. It is a rich life for Tamika and for those who experience and grow, and these are rich visual images to support that belief. Gratia Banta, Germantown Public Library, Dayton, Ohio

Praise for Grandpa's Face

"Muted realistic paintings complement this story of Tamika, a young girl who grows emotionally through love . . . The carefully chosen combination of visual details and large abstract areas support the notion that love is not always clearly definable."-School Library Journal

"Poet Greenfield tells this warm family story with tenderness and grace, and Cooper makes an outstanding debut. The realistic, full-color double spreads are rich in earth tones and vibrant colors . . . A treasure to set beside [Ann Herbert] Scott's Sam."-Kirkus Reviews

"With eloquence and a penetrating glimpse of the fears of children, Greenfield has written a moving story about the reliability of love. Cooper . . . creates family scenes of extraordinary illumination."-Publishers Weekly

"Children resist change. When Grandfather must transform his facial expressions while rehearsing for a community theater production, his granddaughter worries about the man behind the new face."-Children's Literature

''Evocative text and striking pictures ... rich visual images." --School Library Journal, starred review