My grandmother lived with us part of every year and I got to spend spent a lot of time with her. She didn't want to be treated like a guest, she wanted to help I remember very clearly watching her crooked hands as they peeled apples for apple butter, crocheted a doily, or made a pie. Her hands were magic to me. The idea for this book came to me after the birth of my first grandchild. I looked down at the beautiful baby in my hands. It struck me that my hands were now a grandma's hands. The idea resonated with me and just took hold. We use our hands every day to take care of others just like my grandmother's loving hands did long ago and I wanted to write a book about hands in her honor. Grandma's Hands is a full-color picture book about hands -the hands that hold us, love us, and take care of us in big and small ways. In it I have used photographs to focus on the daily life of hands-holding a baby, cooking a meal, or climbing a tree I think grandma would be pleased.