"When Grandma Comes" - Eileen Spinelli

I was flipping through the September, 2010 issue of Highlights when I came across this poem.  The illustrations by Debbie Palen are great, but I still haven't figured out how to scan and transfer to the computer.  So I surfed for awhile, and came across the Highlights page, complete with illustrations AND a young lady reading the poem!  So cool!    Palen has illustrated some books:  The Period Book by Karen Gravelle, and the Andrew Lost series by J. C. Greenburg, among others.  Here's the link.  You can hear it read AND see the illustrations!

When Grandma Comes

When Grandma comes, she likes to bring
a little bit of everything—
a puppy toy, some yellow thread,
a tasty square of gingerbread,
thick homemade soup, a knitted hat,
a can of tuna for the cat,
a couple pairs of woolen socks,
chocolate cherries in a box,
a picture book, a string of beads,
a bag of crunchy pumpkin seeds.

When Grandma comes, she likes to sing
And push me on the backyard swing.
And rock me in the rocking chair.
And read to me. And brush my hair.
She likes to dance me round the floor.
And walk me to the candy store.
And feed me soup by candlelight.
And tuck me into bed at night.

When Grandma comes, my parents grin.
The puppy barks. I laugh and spin.
The cat meows. The whole house hums.
On Saturday, when Grandma comes.