Granddaddy's Turn

The accomplished illustrator James E. Ransome renders the story in warm, realistic watercolors…It’s a message so crucial it almost can’t be delivered with too much sentiment, and the authors and illustrator of “Granddaddy’s Turn” spare none.—The New York TimesThis seemingly simple read-aloud to introduce young readers to the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act achieves complexity in its images.—Kirkus ReviewsA visually detailed tale of patience and delayed triumph that highlights an important aspect of history.—School Library JournalThe plainspoken text offers a slice-of-life example of the injustices endured by African Americans during the mid-twentieth-century.—The Horn BookBandy and Stein succinctly explore a close family bond, set against historical injustice. Ransome’s emotive watercolors strongly convey the grandfather’s dignity and Michael’s quiet pride as he reaches a milestone that was kept from his forebear.—Publishers WeeklyThis engaging picture book demonstrates how the legal right to vote was derailed for many AfricanAmericans in the mid-twentieth century…Ransome’s beautiful, lifelike watercolors show important,accurate period details, and the faces of onlookers telegraph the prevailing attitudes of the time.—Booklist…the story is straightforward and Ransome’s paintings offer literal support for the text…—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s BooksThe poignancy of the story is enhanced by the warm, earth tones of the watercolor illustrations, as readers experience the lives of the grandfather and the child.—Literacy DailyCertain to spark a lively discussion on the 1965 Voting Rights Act.—School library Connection

Michael S. Bandy is the co-author, with Eric Stein, of White Water, which was adapted into a screenplay that awarded the authors a Bill Cosby Screenwriting Fellowship. He lives in Los Angeles.

Eric Stein, co-author with Michael S. Bandy of White Water, has written for the children’s TV series Star Street. He lives in Santa Monica, California.

James E. Ransome, the 2023 winner of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, is the illustrator of Granddaddy’s Turn by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein, as well as the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner The Creation and many other books for children. James E. Ransome lives in Rhinebeck, New York.