A look at death (and life) through the dramatic contrivance of a family slide show ritual. Sam and Douglas enjoy seeing the development of three generations in their grandparents' slides when Grandma and Grandpa babysit. Afterwards, Grandma reads to the boys until stories become dreams. Once the boys come to stay but there is no slide show, because Grandpa is in the hospital, where he dies during the night. The brothers' reactions are depicted well (e.g., in his confused grief, Douglas acts silly and Sam thinks the food brought in by friends and relatives tastes odd); similarly, the funeral and condolence-call behavior is instructive for young readers. When the crowds have left, the slide show ritual is taken up once again, and Douglas poignantly tries to grab his grand-father's image from the screen. The book closes with stories turning to dreams again; this time Sam dreams happily of Grandpa. Gould, a first-time author, occasionally gives too much detail, suggesting more an account of one family's rituals than a universal experience; but on the whole her details work, demonstrating what children notice in a family crisis. Full color illustrations complement the concept of color slides.