This book was so sweet and I really enjoyed it. I could definitely relate to the little girl and the story. The illustrations were great. Definitely recommend this children's book!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet book about the relationship with a granddaughter and her grandfather. Shows how special the relationship can be even if they don't speak the same language. Cute art too.

May's mom drops her off to spend the day with her grandfather, Gong Gong. The thing is that May only knows a couple of words in Chinese and Gong Gong speaks very little English. How are they going to communicate? May is not happy at the beginning of this story, but as they learn other ways to communicate, they connect. This is a sweet book by Sennah Yee that shows a budding relationship between a Grandfather and Granddaughter. It was great to see that May was happy to spend more time with Gong Gong in the future. I loved the illustrations in this book. You see the neighbourhood of Chinatown, Gong Gong's friends, the stores, restaurants etc. The emotions are shown on the faces and with their expressions. This is a heartwarming, intergenerational book. I read this with my grandchildren and my grandson compared it to his Nonetta speaking Italian sometimes, but they knew what each other meant by pointing or their faces. We enjoyed this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Annick Press for access to this arc.

May is spending the day with her Gong Gong. May isn’t happy and thinks her grandfather isn’t listening to her. But he is paying a lot more attention to her than she realizes. This one is adorable and seems like a great book to read aloud. The illustrations are cute and perfectly depict the transition of a bored little girl into a happy one with her beloved grandfather. B+

This review of "My Day with Gong Gong" by Sennah Yee is courtesy of NetGalley. #MyDaywithGongGong #NetGalley
Rating: 4/5

Sweet story with cute illustrations that was definitely reminiscent of childhood experiences hanging out with adults who didn't seem the most interesting to me as a then child.

A heartwarming story of a child spending the day in Chinatown with her grandfather.. May soon realizes love transcends generational differences and language barriers.

Beautifully illustrated book about a child’s day with her Gong Gong (maternal grandfather). Grandchild and grandfather do not share a common language, so the grandchild resists at first. Gong Gong takes her all around the Chinese American neighborhood where she lives. Eventually they learn to communicate without words.

I loved the illustrations of this book and how it centered Chinese words without providing an immediate definition. There is a glossary in the back so you can learn the words. Highly recommend!

This book is super adorable! It teaches patience between generations, because it is easy for children to not understand grandparents. It would also be difficult if a family member speaks another language, which would limit the ability to communicate. This books shows that despite any challenges, there is still so much love. I love the art work and writing. As someone with immigrant family members, it warms my heart because it shows the love there despite any patience needed. Love transcends language barriers.

This book was so sweet. I loved seeing May realize how much her grandfather loved her and slowing down to enjoy their day.

I can imagine few things worse than being a child stuck with people who I cannot communicate with. I felt sorry for May throughout most of the book especially when the adults would laugh at her. I understand what the book was trying for but I didn’t like it at all. I don’t see anything endearing about a child feeling uncomfortable.

Such a sweet illustrated story about a little girl called May and her grandfather Gong Gong.
The story revolves around cultural and linguistic barriers and how the little girl feels misunderstood, confused and frustrated to communicate with her Chinese grandfather.
We get a glimpse at daily Chinatown and the Chinese culture. Throughout the story, both characters start to bond demonstrating that love and patience can lead to understanding.

Really enjoyed reading this book since I also have a toddler with year of the monkey zodiac, just like the girl in the book. I also often drop my toddler off with her grandpa, so this book strikes a cord. Nicely woven plot line and love the ending. I look forward to other books like this one in the future!

My Day with Gong Gong is a sweetly funny illustrated story for the youngest readers written by Sennah Yee. Released 20th Dec 2020 by Annick Press, it's 36 pages and available in hardcover format.

This is a fun and heartwarming story to read aloud and will have the youngest helping to read it after a few readthroughs. The illustrations by Elaine Chen suit the text perfectly and lend a happy and whimsical feel to the story. May and Gong Gong might not have too many words in common, but they are learning from one another and discovering that they have a lot more in common than May originally thought.

While not entirely appropriate for bedtime reading (too many exciting and active bits (including pigeon poop!)), it would be a really superlative selection for afternoon or post-naptime or reading circle reading activities.

Fun and happy and beautifully illustrated along with some subtle lessons on trust and support from the ones who love and care for us as well as a few very simple Chinese words with Hanzi (characters).

Four stars. I really enjoyed this one.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

'My day with Gong Gong' is the story of May, a little girl who has to spend a day with her Gong Gonga (maternal grandfather) She is not quite excited about the idea of spending time with him, her greatest fear being the language barrier. May can’t understand Chinese, while grandpa doesn’t speak much English.

Grandpa takes her for a walk, first to a shop and then a restaurant. She meets many of his friends and neighbors. They are friendly towards her, but May mistakes them to be laughing at her; because of her inability to understand the language. She is hungry, bored, frustrated and impatient. But she is in for a surprise when her grandpa understands her hunger and gives her favorite dim-sum and a toy monkey.

During the course of the day, May sheds her inhibitions, and develops a beautiful bond with her grandpa. She even greets his friends, and neighbors; responding to them in Chinese. She wraps her day with a warm hug to grandpa.

The illustrations are absolutely captivating, and a sure delight.
It’s a wonderful book for the lessons it teaches. It’s important to not forget one’s roots and ethnicity. And with patience, kindness and understanding one can bridge generation gap. End of the day, language need not be a barrier to forging relationships.

A delightful read, children will especially enjoy the book.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful book about a little girl's relationship with her grandfather and cultural and linguistic difference. I felt an affinity with the book's characters and was captivated by the illustrations and descriptions of May's day with her grandfather. May goes through a number of emotions as the story unfolds. Her grandfather's kindness radiates through the story - ending with a heart-warming conclusion. I love the glossary of words in the back - the only thing I would have added is a pronunciation guide. I will be adding this book to my diverse books library.

I've seen really high reviews for this book, and I too think it would be a worthy addition to my family's personal library. My daughter doesn't have a Gong Gong, but she does have a Paw Paw (a Chinese grandmother). I know my daughter could relate to this book, having a language and cultural barrier with her grandparent, just like May. I also know that having several cultures and a loving grandparent is a gift that will help to enrich her life and teach her so much!

This was a really sweet and heartwarming book. Some kids have a hard time connecting with grandparents but all it takes is a small connection to make that bond. I especially loved that May and Gong Gong spent the day out and about. She basically spent a day in his life and he was able to enjoy seeing her in these new experiences. He was watching her when she thought he was missing out on everything. This was a great story with wonderful illustrations. My Day with Gong Gong would make a wonderful gift for a granddaughter or a grandpa.

My Day With Gong Gong by Sennah Yee, art by Elaine Chen, is an exceptionally cute and sweet little picture book about a young girl bonding with her grandfather on a day out in spite of their language barriers (he speaks Chinese, she speaks English). I'm not from a Chinese background but I grew up spending a lot of time with my great-grandparents and their English wasn't great, so I really connected with this story (although my experiences were rural, not city-based) and the relationship portrayed here. I read this one on my own, but I imagine the humour would land with small children. The art was very sweet as well and it suited the story perfectly. Overall, this was a great picture book that I would definitely recommend. My thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the chance to read an e-ARC.

May isn't terrible happy when her mom tells her she will be spending the day at Gong Gong's house. He doesn't speak English, and she doesn't speak Chinese. When Gong Gong falls asleep watching hockey, and May changes the channel, he turns off the the TV and they head out for a walk. Gong Gong greets all the neighbors, saying funny things in Chinese, but May doesn't understand what's making them laugh. The same thing happens inside the gift store, and at the dim sum restaurant - Gong Gong is so busy chatting he doesn't' seem to notice May is so hungry. When they stop at the grocery store to buy food, May hopes they will go home and eat soon, but first Gong Gong stops by the park to greet more friends and play some cards. Just what does he say that makes they laugh, too, just like the people in the gift store, the restaurant, and the grocery? But when a pigeon poops on the shoulder of her jacket, May's had enough and bursts into tears. Gong Gong gently cleans her up, then hands her the toy monkey she wanted at the gift store. Not only that, but he even has pork buns, her favorite, from dim sum restaurant. On their way home, they pass the same people from earlier in the day, only now, May gets a pleasant surprise when they all know just who she is. May's day turns out to be completely different from what she expected. Now, she and Gong Gong have a loving bond, and she even begins to learn a little Chinese starting with "Ngo oi nei" (I love you). I think Sennah Yee has perfectly captured May's frustration not understanding what is going on in the first part of this story and thinking her grandfather didn't much care about her, when it turns out to be just the opposite. As the two walk around Chinatown, the watercolor and pencil crayons illustrations show a friendly, welcoming place, much like Gong Gong himself, but it is not something May notices until things turn around. There are a few Chinese words used throughout and there is a glossary in the back that includes Chinese characters with pronunciation and translation.

My Day with Gong Gong is one of the cutest, most heartwarming stories I've read in a while. I've quickly become a big fan of this book written by Sennah Yee, illustrated by Elaine Chen, and published by Annick Press.

May is dropped off at her Gong Gong's (Grandfather) house for the day, but is feeling anxious and shy. She doesn't really speak Chinese... and Gong Gong speaks only Chinese... how could they possibly have a good day together?

As the day goes on, May gets more and more frustrated with feeling left out, confused, and unheard--even laughed at at one point! But slowly she discovers that she and Gong Gong have a special bond, and Gong Gong cares for her more than she realized. What started as a scary day turns out to be a fantastic adventure.

This story is about family, cultural differences, intergenerational friendships, and finding commonalities with those who at first seem different from us. I appreciate the Chinese words sprinkled throughout the book (with a Cantonese guide at the back, too), and I can't share enough praise for Elaine Chen's illustrations. May's adorable pouty faces as she again and again feels misunderstood had me giggling, and then feeling for her.