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FINDING GRANDMA'S MEMORIES by Jiyeon  Pak

FINDING GRANDMA'S MEMORIES

by Jiyeon Pak ; illustrated by Jiyeon Pak

Pub Date: Sept. 17th, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-58107-9
Publisher: Knopf

As Grandma ages, teatime changes in the eyes of a loving grandchild.

“Ever since I was really little, I have loved having tea with my grandma.” A young girl remembers the days of holding her stuffed bear as she reaches out to hug her gray-haired maternal grandmother. She explains the teatime ritual, which begins by selecting a teacup from a beautiful collection, as flowers and fruit and cupcakes wait on the table. With bright illustrations brimming with geometric patterns, the pages exude comfort and familiarity. The unnamed narrator’s mother is white with blonde hair, and her father has brown skin and black hair, making the biracial girl a sweet blending of the two. As the narrator grows in age and wisdom, she notices that Grandma is getting confused—she leaves the water running and puts her eyeglasses in the refrigerator. Most alarmingly, she calls her granddaughter by the wrong name. But with optimism and honesty, the girl finds ways to help her grandmother remember. While the story is constructive in tone, readers will also understand that accepting the reality of memory loss is equally important. The gentle theme of spending care-filled time with aging loved ones echoes another title by Pak, My Grandpa’s Chair (2017). As the back cover tagline reads, “When someone you love can’t remember things, maybe you can remember for them.”

A comforting cup of tenderness for children when aging and memory loss issues begin to brew

. (Picture book. 4-8)