This is actually part of a larger scene that involves the author’s use of foreshadowing in the novel. It is not only Gram that refers to Kevin as “poor baby,” but Grim joins in as well saying “poor Kevin” and giving a “long sorrowful look.” This foreshadows Kevin’s ultimate death from his birth defects. (Foreshadowing is an author’s hint of what might happen later.) Max has always known that there was something wrong with Kevin. Even at daycare, Kevin was the child who wore “shiny braces on his crooked legs” and referred to himself as “Robot Man” as a result. After this reference of Kevin being “poor,” though, Max reacts violently. As is very typical of the very loyal Max, he defends his friend and, in his own way, tries to explain to Grim and Gram that Kevin is not “poor” but is smart and adventurous and imaginative. As much as Max does not want to see the truth about Kevin, Grim and Gram can see the harsh reality of the situation: Kevin will probably not live that long. Sure enough, Kevin dies not long after his thirteenth birthday.  Max eventually makes sure that Kevin remains immortalized through the stories of their adventures which become the book Freak the Mighty.