An accessible, kindhearted explanation of Alzheimer’s disease.
In this illustrated children’s book, a girl learns how to help her grandmother who’s been diagnosed with dementia.
Bright-eyed Annie loves spending time with her grandparents, as does her brother, Andy. The kids enjoy helping Grandma, especially with baking and gardening. In the kitchen, Annie likes looking through Grandma’s memory box of special recipes, and in the garden, she appreciates the fragrance of her grandparents’ roses; for the elderly woman, they’re a reminder of the single rose that Grandpa gave her in high school, when they fell in love. However, she starts becoming forgetful and confused during the kids’ visits, and the doctor says she has Alzheimer’s disease, which the siblings’ mother explains is “loss of memory, thinking, or reasoning.” Medicine helps Grandma sleep better, and a “Senior’s Memory Club” day program allows her to be with people her age and staff to look after her, so that Grandpa can get a break from caretaking. Still, Grandma has times when she’s sad, withdrawn, or upset. Annie has the good idea to make a memory scrapbook called “A Rose for Grandma!”; now, her grandma “can always have something beautiful to look at, even on her not-so-good days.” In her debut book, Canadian author Egi clearly explains the complicated subject of dementia for young readers, as with an example of Grandma putting her eyeglasses in the microwave by mistake. She also sympathizes with children’s feelings of loss and acknowledges that Alzheimer’s can be tough on caregivers. The memory scrapbook is a practical and compassionate idea for kids to try; another helpful aspect of the book is its included list of resources (mostly Canada-specific). Debut illustrator Kaur supplies somewhat crudely drawn full-color images, but they still capture the warmth of Annie’s family.
An accessible, kindhearted explanation of Alzheimer’s disease.Pub Date: April 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73684-108-2
Page Count: 62
Publisher: Mindstir Media
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes.
Another entry in the how-much-I-love-you genre.
The opening spread shows a blue elephant-and-child pair, the child atop the adult, white hearts arcing between their uplifted trunks: “You’re a gift and a blessing in every way. / I love you more each and every day.” From there, the adult elephant goes on to tell the child how they are loved more than all sorts of things, some rhyming better than others: “I love you more than all the spaghetti served in Rome, // and more than each and every dog loves her bone.” More than stars, fireflies, “all the languages spoken in the world,” “all the dancers that have ever twirled,” all the kisses ever given and miles ever driven, “all the adventures you have ahead,” and “all the peanut butter and jelly spread on bread!” Representative of all the world’s languages are “I love you” in several languages (with no pronunciation help): English, Sioux, French, German, Swahili, Spanish, Hawaiian, Chinese, and Arabic (these two last in Roman characters only). Bold colors and simple illustrations with no distracting details keep readers’ focus on the main ideas. Dashed lines give the artwork (and at least one word on every spread) the look of 2-D sewn toys.
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8398-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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