One of Israel’s shin­ing stars, acclaimed author David Gross­man, has giv­en us a sim­ple yet pro­found children’s book filled with wis­dom and warmth. Yotam has a sweet, lov­ing rela­tion­ship with his grand­fa­ther. One thing piques his curios­i­ty: his grandfather’s wrin­kles. He wants to know why he has them, where they come from. His grand­fa­ther answers kind­ly and reas­sures him that wrin­kles are an impor­tant part of life. They come from old age and a life full of expe­ri­ences, some hap­py and some sad. His face, he tells his grand­son, is a reflec­tion of dif­fi­cult times as well as joy­ous ones. Grandmother’s ill­ness and death are shown on his face, but so is Yotam’s birth.

The con­ver­sa­tion, although deep, is light­heart­ed and lov­ing. Chil­dren will learn from and enjoy this affec­tion­ate rela­tion­ship between gen­er­a­tions. The author brings the pros and cons of aging to light in a beau­ti­ful way. The images, drawn main­ly in shades of blue, reflect a peace­ful accep­tance of life’s stages in all their com­plex glory.