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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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