Grandy Thaxter's Helper

Rees, D. R. (2004). Grandy thaxter's helper. New York City: Atheneum.


Grandy Thaxter's Helper was written by Douglas Rees. It was published in 2004. Douglas Rees was also well known for his series Vampire High. Douglas only wrote one other picture book it was called "Jeanette Claus Saves Christmas." 
In this fun picture book for little kids, Grandy Thaxter cheats death by asking him to help her do a simple chore before he takes her away. But washing clothes or making food is not all that easy in Colonial times, as Mr. Death soon finds out. It was funny and cute. And a great way for children to learn how tough life was before computers and smart phones. I liked this story a lot it reminded me a lot of myself. I am a lot like Grandy Thaxter. This book does deal with the topic with death which in my opinion is a little harsh for young children to be learning about. The illustrations in this book were amazing so life like. It was like looking at a photograph. The illustrations were very detailed, which I liked. This story is a fictional fantasy. It was a supernatural fantasy and a humorous fantasy. It convinced the reader of the impossible, death will not come to your house and help you do chores. The setting was established well. It took place at Grandy's home. The characters were all well developed. The balance between real and fantasy was perfect. Some activities for students to do is to write a what if poem and write what they would do if death came for them. The students could also make up a different ending to the story, what if Grandy went along with death. This book is intended for younger children ages three to six years old. As a teacher you could ask your students how they reacted to this book? It may not be an easy topic for some students to enjoy. Ask them why do you think Grandy asked the man to help her do all the chores? Did she know what he was there for? How would you rate this book? What was your emotional response to this book? I really enjoyed this book. It was not what I thought it would be. It had me very interested and I kept wanting to turn the page to find out what would happen. I loved this book and will keep it with me to share with my future students.