Getting Us to Grandma's by Nadia L. Hohn, illustrated by TeMika Grooms
CBC Books | Posted: September 10, 2024 4:35 PM | Last Updated: September 10
No one knows maps like Nikki — but can she get her family to Grandma's house in time?
Nikki's family is preparing for a long road trip from Toronto to the Bronx to attend Uncle Travis's wedding. They pack their suitcases, boxes of Jamaican black cake, and most importantly to Nikki, the big map book!
Nikki loves geography and enjoys tracing the routes to all the places her relatives live — her Grandpa in Florida, her cousins in Atlanta, DC, and Boston. She daydreams of England, where other family lives, and Jamaica and Africa, where her roots run deep.
Her attention comes back to the road trip when it's clear that Daddy's taken a wrong turn. "I can help!" says Nikki, who proves to be an excellent navigator. She guides them back to the Bronx Expressway, under the elevated subway tracks, onto a street of brown row houses and safely to Grandma's.
Inspired by the childhoods of author Nadia L. Hohn and illustrator TeMika Grooms, Getting Us to Grandma's is full of fun historic details — a world before Google Maps! — and authentic cultural moments shared by diasporic families, whose stories can be traced across continents. A fantastic representation of Black girls in STEM. (From Groundwood Books)
Getting Us to Grandma's is for ages 3-6
Nadia L. Hohn is a Toronto-based award-winning writer and educator. She is the author of numerous picture books which includes Malaika, Carnival Queen, Malaika's Costume, Malaika's Winter Carnival, Malaika's Surprise and Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter, illustrated by Gustavo Mazali.
TeMika Grooms is a writer and illustrator living in Atlanta, Georgia.