Genre: Children's 4-7
Published: June 6, 2023
Pages: 32
From award-winning author Heather Smith, a heartwarming, moving story about loss - and remembering.
When Granny dies, a young child and their family have a hole in their hearts. They find it helps them fill it to remember her through the things she left behind. To the father, she left a tuba, and to the mother, a locket. To the sister, she left a microscope, and to the brother, a record collection. To the main character, though, Granny left something different: a world of adventure, that they visit with their memories. Through imaginative play with items that belonged to Granny, the child travels near and far. And Granny is right beside them, along for the ride.
Using spare prose, award-winning author Heather Smith’s beautiful story about loss, grief and memories presents an honest yet optimistic view of how to joyfully remember loved ones after they’re gone. Ashley Barron’s layered cut-paper collage illustrations bring fun to the story, while colorfully capturing the feel of a child’s imagination in flight. This book provides a gentle, thoughtful entryway into a conversation with children - or adults - about losing a loved one, and how to hold them close. It’s a wonderful resource for focusing on social-emotional learning, and an excellent representation for a character education lesson on resilience.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.
This is a fun short story about a kid who has recently lost his grandmother. He talks about the ways that they remember her and the things that she left for him and the rest of his family, and the way he talks, he really made out like a bandit because she left so many things for him. Of course it becomes obvious quite quickly that what she really left him was imagination and adventures because she was a part of his life in a way that I don't think many white grandparents (at least) are nowadays at least. I certainly didn't have experiences like that with my grandparents, and my kids don't with theirs either (although living in Germany while they were young certainly didn't help that). It honestly made me a little sad thinking about the things my kids aren't getting from their grandparents.
The illustrations were bright and colorful and a lot of them looked like mixed-multimedia pictures. Like they colored on various pieces of paper, then glued them onto a page to create the full pictures, giving them a depth. It's an illustration format that I personally really enjoy, so I really liked them.
I would be okay reading this to kids several times because it was fairly short and not annoying upon first reading (although I'm sure that could change with repeated readings. It usually does). Overall I give this book 4.6 out of 5 stars. - Katie
Heather Smith is the author of many critically acclaimed children's books, including The Agony of Bun O'Keefe and The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden. Her middle-grade novel in verse, Ebb & Flow, won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award. Originally from Newfoundland, Heather now lives in Waterloo, Ontario, with her husband and three children. Her East Coast roots inspire much of her writing.
Ashley Barron is an author and illustrator who specializes in cut-paper collage. Her books include My Forest Is Green, My Ocean Is Blue and My City Speaks, as well as her authorial debut, Love You Head to Toe. Ashley lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her partner and their three cats.
