Explaining what is happening when Grandma or Grandpa starts to have memory issues or are acting differently due to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is challenging. Finding ways to open the conversation with your children and grandchildren can be easier with the multitude of picture books available that try to open the door to understanding.
In Alison Acheson’s touching story, “Grandpa’s Music,” Callie’s grandfather moves in with her family as his memory begins to fade. The family creates a routine so that “grandpa will know what step comes next.” As time passes, his music still remains as connective tissue to his past.
With the same respect for music, Sarah Lynn’s “Tip-Tap Pop” is a sweet story about a little girl who loves to tap dance with her grandfather. As Pop ages, he starts forgetting things, even Emma’s birthday. The story glosses over some of the harder aspects of Alzheimer’s but is a good place to start for young children.
In Émilie Rivard’s “Really and Truly,” Charlie and his grandfather share a love of a tall tale. His grandfather always told him stories. Now that Charlie is older, his grandfather not only doesn’t tell stories, but he also has “an awful disease eating up his memory and his words. It has even swallowed up his smile.” Suddenly, Charlie makes up his own story, and when he says the magic line, “really and truly,” a spark of recognition appears on his grandfather’s face. While his grandfather doesn’t always recognize him, he continues to be the storyteller with “the power to find the right story to make him smile.”
It can be a frightening experience for kids when their grandparents start to lose their memories. In “Always My Grandpa,” by Linda Scacco, young Daniel looks forward to spending his summer vacation with Grandpa, but this year Grandpa starts to change as the summer progresses. This is a heartwarming tale describing what it is like to be close to a grandparent who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
In a similar vein, “Still My Grandma,” by Véronique Van den Abelee, celebrates the special relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter while showing the challenges as grandma begins to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. One day, Grandma forgets her granddaughter’s name. Another day, she puts her shoes in the refrigerator. This is a sensitive way to introduce a young reader to the realities of Alzheimer’s disease and a reminder that love is more powerful than any illness.
Making memory boxes and scrapbooks is an important theme repeated in books dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. In Maria Shriver’s “What’s Happening to Grandpa,” the main character, Kate, copes with understanding her Grandpa’s condition after he begins repeating the same stories. Together, they sit down with a box of photographs and his still-intact memories and create a scrapbook so that “the important memories of my life will forever be in my heart.”
These books can help a young child find ways to cope and understand what is going on with their beloved grandparents.