Everyone knows that laughter is good medicine. Research says that laughter keeps us healthier and in better spirits. So humor was one thing that I wanted to incorporate in my story. And children love to laugh and are good at it. The humorous aspect of the story is funny because the idea of what is happening in the story comes from everyday situations that have been exaggerated to make it funny. I test my stories out on my husband and when he bursts out laughing I know they are funny, and when he smiles I know they are sweet, and when he tears I know they are touching. My husband’s hairdresser told him a story about her client that had read the story to her son at the salon, and the boy found it so funny that he didn’t want to leave until his mom read the story again. My own friend told me that Joey Visits Grandpa is one of her son’s favorite books at school and thinks it’s hilarious that Grandpa keeps on loosing his glasses. He also made a point saying he thought it was great that Joey and Grandpa went fishing.
At the same time I wanted my story to have a charm and sweetness about it because after all, it is about a loving family relationship between a grandpa and his grandson. Quoted from my story, “Joey loved making pancakes with Grandpa,” describes simply how a boy would feel in the same situation. My husband just recently read a story that I had written in elementary school and he quotes, “Honey, you still have that same secret sauce. You write from the heart of a child.” His words made me feel very good because that’s what I want, a story that children will love and identify with.
On the more scholastic side, developing critical thinking skills is also one of the intents of the story. This is woven into the plot as it goes along. The statement, “but there was one small problem” or the question, “But guess what happened?” fuels the reader’s anticipation and gets the young reader thinking about how the problem happened, and what is going to happen next. The end of the story concludes with Joey and Grandpa feeling very content and happy, but also has a humorous conundrum in the last illustration for the children to solve.
The arrangement of repetition throughout the story drives the narrative and engages the reader, helping them to learn new vocabulary, and to develop their reading comprehension skills. The wonderful illustrations are meant to both entertain and help in the process of decoding words and learning new vocabulary. The illustrations often have a behind the scenes story to tell. And of course, Grandpa’s glasses, which can be found in every illustration, help develop observation skills, and it’s just plain fun to find the glasses.