A touching tale about a little girl understanding her grandfather's forgetfulness.
WHAT DO PARENTS NEED TO KNOW?
This lovely book tackles the topic of dementia and memory-loss. It explores the relationship between a little girl and her grandfather. It touches on fear and insecurities but the predominant theme is love and enjoying the special times with those that we love.
"Sometimes grandad forgets things, like he did the day we set up camp and watched the tide come in"
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
This book is about a little girl understanding her grandfather's dementia. It is a tale of memories being lost and made once again. In this book the tide becomes an important metaphor to help the little girl make sense of her grandfather's forgetfulness. Like the tide his memories wash in and out and come in varying levels of clarity. A day at the beach becomes a powerful representation of love, empathy and the patience that is required when a loved one experiences memory loss.
"I love my grandad but sometimes I get cross when he does odd things. I try to remember it must be scary to forget"
WHAT DO WE SAY?
This book gave us a lump in our throat. It is a beautiful way to explain a very complex situation to a young person. When the tide is in grandad's memories are clear and accessible. It is a celebration and a moment to cherish. But it isn't always this way. When the tide is out he struggles to see them once again.
We really enjoyed the fact that love is what prevails in this story. Even in accepting her grandfather's memory loss the girl remains certain about the fact that they share a special bond. She experiences moments of worry as she wonders if her grandfather could possibly forget about her, but it is remedied by the strength of their connection in the present moment.
"because Grandad doesn't remember things like he used to but I love him like I always have. And I know that he loves me".
WHAT DO KIDS SAY?
It makes me think about my grandad and I have three of them.
