Forget Me Not

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Book Information

Category
Picture Book
Publisher
Schwartz & Wade August 2014
Curriculum
Social Emotional Learning

“Ever so  slowly, like a low tide leaving the bay, a change came along.Grandma was becoming more and more  forgetful.”

Julia,  the narrator of FORGET ME NOT, has a young lifetime of memories ofher  grandmother--those times before her grandmother began forgettingeveryone’s  names, forgetting to open the garage door when backing out the car,leaving her  eyeglasses in the refrigerator, and forgetting all of thememorable adventures  that she and Julia have had together.

“One  awful snowy morning, Mrs. Hester found her in the garden wearingnothing but her  nightie.  She said Grandma was  trying to pick forget-me-notsfrom underneath the snow, where they lay all  crumpled and brown.  Grandmaseemed  not to notice the cold.

“When  Mama and I got there, she didn’t seem to notice us,  either.“So I  asked, ‘Mama, what’s wrong with Grandma?’“She  didn’t say anything, just shook her head.“I asked  again.  ‘Mama,  please?’

“Finally  she answered.

“‘You  know how some old people have trouble seeing or hearing?  Well,some have trouble  remembering--like Grandma.  It’s a  sickness that nobodyknows how to cure yet.’

“Mama  drew me close, comforting like always.  I clung to her like a twistof ivy and held tight.”

In FORGET  ME NOT, a noteworthy picture book about Alzheimer’s disease thatwill work quite  well with preschoolers and elementary students, thosemishaps caused by her  grandmother’s growing problem result in Julia’s parentsdecision to move Julia’s  grandmother out of her house--a house that holdssuch memories for Julia--and  into an assisted-living facility.

Stephanie  Graegin is an illustrator to watch.  Through herdigitally-colored pencil and ink washes, she creates  believable, likeable characters and acomfortable visual setting for a tale that  will undoubtedly bring worry tosome young audiences.

Alzheimer’s  disease is a topic that is pretty scary for all of us.  It isestimated that slightly more than  one-percent of the world’s populationwill be affected by Alzheimer’s by  mid-century.  In terms of reassuring  youngaudiences, this is both good and bad news: We can honestly say that thechances a child’s parents or grandparents will be affected are relativelysmall.  And yet we must also say  that every child will likely come to know acouple of people who develop  it.

That  reality makes this an important book.  Better yet, this is also anengaging, thought-provoking, and  excellently-illustrated picture book storyabout a child and her beloved  grandparent.

Recommended by:  Richie  Partington, MLIS, Librarian, California USA

978-0-449-81543-4    Ages  5-10    40 pages

See more of his picks:  Richie's  Picks  (https://richiespicks.com/)

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