Children who may be frightened by a relative’s dementia will find reassurance in this informative, approachable story.
In this picture book, a little girl learns how music helps her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
Gabrielle, a young Caucasian girl, notices that her beloved grandmother seems dazed; the older woman also tries to get into the wrong car after they attend a ballet together. Later, Gabrielle’s mother explains that “Grandma has been having difficulty remembering recent events and is becoming confused” due to Alzheimer’s disease. Gabrielle wants to help her, and the next morning, she and her mom bring Grandma’s old record player down from the attic. Hearing her favorite songs, Grandma is smiling and happy, as she was during the ballet. Gabrielle learns that music helps Grandma connect with her memories and can also calm her. An author’s note explains more about Alzheimer’s disease and how music can help sufferers “retain identity, promote communication, and reduce anxiety.” Gerdner (Grandfather’s Story Cloth, 2015, etc.), a registered nurse, draws on the basic principles of an evidence-based protocol that she developed for using music to assist Alzheimer’s patients. The way that the mother involves young Gabrielle with the plan is a nice touch; for example, the girl helps carry Grandma’s scrapbook. Gearino’s full-page illustrations are warm, detailed, and softly colored, contributing to the soothing atmosphere.
Children who may be frightened by a relative’s dementia will find reassurance in this informative, approachable story.Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9986864-0-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pizzicato Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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