Humorous and Touching Book Asks Age-Old Question, “Why Does Grandpa Walk So Slowly?”

Why Does Grandpa Walk So Slowly? by Yoav J. Tenembaum

"When you look deeper and read between the lines, you see the love and bond that is shared by two different generations."

Sometimes we don’t realize the significance of the relationship we have with our grandparents until they are no longer with us. As children we might think they are out of touch, uncool, or stuck in the past saying things like, “Back in my day…” but we often forget that our grandparents lived lives and had different identities before us! In this book Why Does Grandpa Walk So Slowly? by Yoav J. Tenembaum we see a relationship between grandfather and grandson as they ask the age-old question: Why do you walk so slow?

Story of Grandfather and Grandson Bonding

Inspired by true events and conversations from the author’s real life, Why Does Grandpa Walk So Slowly? is a tale about a grandfather’s quest to discover the reason he walks so slowly, and it seems everyone around him has the same question! Determined to find answers, his first stop is at a friendly turtle who tells him he was a turtle before he was a man, while he no longer looks like a turtle he still walks like one. Well, that explains it — he must have been a turtle once! 

Until he goes to his friend snail, who says, “You walk too slow for a turtle…you were a snail before you were a man.” Now armed with more questions than answers, Grandpa decides to consult with his grandson, Noam. Perhaps he could shed some light on this situation.

Noam has an amazing sense of humor, making everyone around him roar in laughter. He is also a super sensitive kiddo, always making sure his grandpa isn’t worried about him on his adventures, and lastly, he has a rich imagination! Noam and his imagination have cooked up the idea that Grandpa’s nose is bigger than an elephant! According to Noam, this is the very reason Grandpa is always walking so slow. His nose is so big and long, it keeps getting caught in the cracks in the pavement, making him walk very, very slowly. Mystery solved! 

Later on, Noam and Grandpa are watching a movie and Noam suddenly says “…Nobody would care if you walked slowly.” Saying this makes it clear that the reason Grandpa walks so slowly will remain a mystery, and that’s okay. As long as Grandpa is still around to walk slowly with, Noam is content with not knowing the reason. So why not handle the situation with the humor he is so famous for and have a laugh about it! 

Humor, Heart and Sentimentality

Why Does Grandpa Walk So Slowly? By Yoav J. Tenebaum at the surface, is a silly tale about a grandfather and grandson duo searching for any reason that would make Grandpa walk so slowly but when you look deeper and read between the lines, you see the love and bond that is shared by two different generations. This book is filled with humor and whimsical illustrations by the talented Siski Kalla that any grandfather and grandson duo would love to read together!

As someone who has lost both sets of grandparents, when I was reading this all I could think about was, “I wish my grandparents were here to talk to, maybe we could even go for a walk together.” I would gladly walk as slow as a turtle or snail if it meant we could walk side by side again.