2016 Best Books for New Grandparents
To help us make our selections for this year’s recognition of the 13 Best Books for New Grandparents, we asked fellow members of the GRANDparent Network to pitch in. This job is getting harder every year. Back in 2004 when we launched GRAND Magazine there were not a lot of choices, but with the explosion of baby boomer grands, this book category is growing as fast as our grandkids. If we missed one of your favorites, please shoot us an email to editor@grandmagazine.com and let us know about it.
Good to Be Grand: Making the Most of Your Grandchild’s First Year
by Cheryl Harbour and foreword by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Journalist and new grandmother Cheryl Harbour gets right to the point of what modern grandparents really need to know from the time they begin anticipating the birth to the end of the first year. Harbour takes the best and most relevant information from the latest research, expert interviews, and thick parenting books and tailors it specifically for grandparents, recognizing the unique bond they share with their children’s children. Each chapter provides interesting facts and observations about what has remained the same and what has changed about childcare over the years, what you can do to support the physical and emotional well-being of your grandchild and, most important, what you can do to make the most of the experience.
Today’s Grandmother: Your Guide to the First Two Years 
by Angla Bowen
The birth of a baby is exciting for everyone, but much has changed in the last thirty years, meaning it can also be intimidating; especially for the expectant and new grandmother. This is the how-to-guide for grandmothers-to-be, new grandmothers, and those who are becoming grandmothers again. Angela Bowen, a registered nurse and proud grandmother will help you explore the most up-to-date facts about pregnancy and birth, plus teach you the latest in baby care, infant nutrition, sleep, equipment, and safety.
Becoming Grandma – The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting
by Leslie Stahl
Along with her personal accounts, Leslie Stahl speaks with scientists and doctors about physiological changes that occur in women when they have grandchildren; anthropologists about why there are grandmothers, in evolutionary terms; and psychiatrists about the therapeutic effects of grandchildren on both grandmothers and grandfathers.
The Grandest Love – Inspiring the Grandparent-Grandchild Connection 
by Jerry Whitkovsky
A longtime social work professional, grandparenting activist, and passionate grandpa provides us with a fresh approach to age-old questions about how families can stay connected, how grandparents can stay relevant in their grandchildren’s rapidly changing world and much more.
The GRANDPARENTS HANDBOOK – Games, Activities, Tips, How-tos, and all Around Fun
by Elizabeth Laban
If you are a grandparent looking for lots of cool, fun activities to do with your g-kids, this book is for you. The Grandparenting Handbook promise to deliver hours of fun and educational quality time from building a dollhouse, baking bread and catching fish to flying kites, creating a family newspaper and lots more.
Ask Grandma Karen Vol II Savvy Advice to Sooth Parent-Grandparent Conflicts
by Karen L. Rancourt, Ph.D.
Karen Rancourt offers grandparents sterling advice on all manner of family matters, especially in regards to modern relationships and worries involving grandchildren. Her ability to see complex issues clearly and offer sound, balanced, thought-provoking, and in-depth information and support — as well as resources — should be of value to any and all grandparents.
The Essential Grandparent – A Guide to Making a Difference
by Dr. Lillian Carson
Dr. Lillian Carson is a nationally renowned authority on child development, parenting and grandparenting. The Essential Grandparent is a reader-friendly guide, free of psychological jargon and filled with tips and do’s and don’ts. It is peppered with quotes, anecdotal material and step-by-step exercises for skill development. As a reference book for choosing the best gifts, activities to bridge geographical distance and relationship building it will be used again and again.
When Being a Grandma Isn’t So Grand
by Donne Davis
In case you think it’s easy being a successful grandparent…think again. This new life stage comes with serious challenges. Author, Donne Davis of the GaGaSisterhood.com, shares the keys to building a loving relationship with your grandchild’s parents and fostering empathy between the generations. Whether you’re a brand new grandma or a veteran grand, this guide will help you handle three of your most common challenges.
The Good Granny Guide
by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall
A good book to pick up a trick or two from this first-hand advice. In this book you will find a whole range of practical advice to help you to make the most of the time you spend with your grandchildren, as babies, as toddlers, and through the primary school years. As all good grannies know, the most precious gift they can offer their grandchildren is time. In The Good Granny Guide you will find a whole range of practical advice to help you make the most of the time you spend with your grandchildren, as babies, as toddlers, and through the primary school years. Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall, a loving and closely involved grandmother of four children, has gathered first-hand tips from other grandparents and their families in many different situations. The result is a wonderfully insightful handbook – a vast resource of wisdom, history and humour – covering everything from childcare troubleshooting to what NOT to say to the daughter-in-law.
The Grandparents’ Book
by Miriam Stoppard
The Grandparents Book contains reassuring advice, experience and wisdom from childcare expert Dr. Miriam Stoppard, a grandmother herself several times over. It is full of activity ideas, experience and wisdom. Every grandparent wants to make the most of life with their new grandchildren. But how can you build a close relationship? How far should you get involved? What about financial planning for the future? Discover not just how to be a good grandparent, but a really great grandparent.
Glorious Grandparenting – Having the Time of Your Life with Your Grandchildren
by Gloria Hunniford
If you want to have fun with your grandkids, this is the book for you. Grandparenting is not what it used to be. For the younger generation, an apple or blackberry has a whole new meaning and they will never know what it means to ‘wait for the TV to warm up’. As the proud, keen and enthusiastic grandmother to nine wonderful grandchildren, Gloria Hunniford knows a thing or two about keeping up with them.
The Grandparent Guide – The Definitive Guide to Coping with the Challenges of Modern Grandparenting
by Arthur Kornhaber, M.D.
Gone are the days when your role as a grandparent was easily definable as the provider of homemade cookies and a quick game of catch. Times have changed, and so have grandparents. You’re healthier, wealthier, younger, and smarter than any previous generation. Families have also become far more diverse and complex, making the role of grandparent more complicated, unclear, and confusing. Fortunately, Arthur Kornhaber, M.D., can help you through the experience with The Grandparent Guide is a priceless resource for all grandparents or soon-to-be grandparents, filled with invaluable information that you can refer to again and again.
The Granny Diaries: An Insider’s Guide for New Grandmothers
by Adair Lara
According to Lisa Carpenter of GrandmasBriefs.com, “This was the first grandmother book I purchased when I became a grandma. The author is real about the ins and outs of grandparenting. No fluffy, cootchi coo stuff, but oozing with love and laughter.” This delightful guide gives new grandmas clear direction on how to navigate foreign territory. She outlines how to give advice without getting a Dr. Sears guide chucked at your head. She offers wise counsel on how to stay on the parents’ good side (hint: don’t say anything, ever). Hilarious in its blunt truisms, The Granny Diaries steers around the shoals of grandma sentimentality. And yet, having fallen madly in love with her own grandchildren, Adair affirms that the years after the big G truly are golden.
