Granny Torrelli Makes Soup: Reading can make you hungry

Title: Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
Author: Sharon Creech
Age Range: 9-12
Genre: Fiction, Stream of consciousness style

Okay, so maybe this book appeals to me because almost the entire book takes place in the kitchen.  Granny Torrelli and her granddaughter Rose spend time together cooking.  I like to cook and spend time with friends so this would appeal to me for that reason.  But the book has much more than meets the eye.  The print is surprisingly large and the book is divided into very short chapters.  Initial examination would lead one to think that this is a simple, babyish book.  But that is not what is there.

The book explores several relationships.  The first relationship is between granddaughter Rose and her Granny Torrelli.  This relationship is clearly one of love, affection and respect and it is a wonderful one to watch unfold.  Granny Torrelli is very aware of Rose's needs and her heart's desires and helps Rose to grapple with tough emotional situations by sharing experiences from her own life growing up.  She speaks with a charming Italian accent, which Sharon Creech does a marvelous job incorporating into the book.  The second relationship is the relationship between Rose and her best friend Bailey, who happens to be blind.  The two have been friends forever, since babies, and are fast friends even though they go to separate schools.  For Rose, there is no one else but Bailey, so when someone new comes to the neighborhood, her "tiger self" (as she calls it) comes out and she is jealous.  She has to fight the feelings of jealousy and understand what it means to have friendships.

The final relationship is Rose's understanding of herself.  One of the wonderful things that Sharon Creech does in the book show Rose's own inner conflict and tensions with her own character and desires.  I think it is wonderful to show that people are often conflicted and that choices are not always easy.  Rose's emotions are readily open for all to see, and not all the emotions are the simple ones.  She experiences jealousy, disappointment, pain, rejection and the reader can see how Rose feels as she goes through these situations. 

I love this book.  The reading is not difficult (unless someone has a problem figuring out what all the Italian means, but Creech does a great job with this), but the stream of consciousness style may be a bit difficult for some readers to follow.  This would be a wonderful bedtime read aloud book with your child as you could talk about what Rose is going through and use it as a jumping point for some honest discussion.