Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
My Nana and Me
Irene Smalls · 2014
82/100
👍 Worth It
Kirkus called it 'a loving tribute with effective images and broad appeal,' and that is exactly right — Irene Smalls captures the specific warmth of a grandmother's love without sentimentality, and the rhythmic text makes it a joy to read aloud. The authentic African American cultural representation fills a real gap in the picture-book landscape. Simple, yes, but perfectly calibrated for its audience.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety98
substance75
craft84
originality72
accuracy90
hype78
age-fit90
human-eye85
Penny’s verdict82
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