Tag: Children

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“Back to Blackbrick” by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Cosmo’s grandad is beginning to exhibit the early signs of Alzheimer’s. A team of social workers appear at the house he shares with his grandparents, hoping to test Grandad Kevin’s memory. If he doesn’t pass this memory test, Grandad will be dispatched to a nursing home. Cosmo is particularly close to his grandparents after his brother’s death and his mother’s subsequent move to Australia, leaves him living in their house. Desperate to help, he follows his grandad’s garbled instructions and uses an ancient key to let himself into Blackbrick Abbey. As soon as he steps through the gates, Cosmo is transported back in time. He meets his grandad as a young boy and gets caught up in a 70-year-old adventure, meeting the people who shaped his grandad’s life. As he plunges deeper and deeper into the strange world of Blackbrick, Cosmo continues to take extensive notes on the past, intending to use these notes to help Grandad Kevin pass his memory test. At the risk of giving away too many spoilers, I’ll leave my synopsis there.

Irish writer Sarah Moore Fitzgerald drew from her own experiences of her father’s dementia when crafting this beautiful snapshot of the relationship between a young man and his beloved grandad. The depiction of dementia is both accurate and shot through with moments of genuine humour and humanity. There are some genuine laugh out loud moments here and also a few scenes which moved me to tears. Grandad Kevin is far from being the stereotype often encountered in dementia narratives. And whilst the magical elements in the book bring a touch of whimsy and other worldliness to the story, at no point does Moore Fitzgerald shy away from confronting the harsher realities of watching a loved one journey with dementia. This, at heart, is a realist novel with a subtle element of the fantastical. 

Back to Blackbrick is full of wonderful, well-crafted and memorable characters and the plot kept me gripped from start to finish. I’d thoroughly recommend it for late primary and early high school readers who enjoy funny, adventure-filled novels. It also offers a great opportunity to introduce themes around dementia and begin important conversations on this subject with younger kids.

Back to Blackbrick was published by Orion Children’s Books in 2013 

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Book Reviews

“The Summer of Lily and Esme” by John Quinn

It’s the summer between Primary and Secondary School and everything’s changing for Alan. His parents have moved the family out of Dublin and bought an old house in a village in the country. At first Alan thinks he’ll be isolated and lonely with no one around to play with. However, within days of the move he’s stumbled upon the two old ladies who live in the cottage next door. Lily and Esme are twins. Although they’re extremely elderly now, they still believe themselves to be little girls and instantly mistake Alan for a young boy they used to play with, who died tragically on the day of their tenth birthday party. With the help of his new friend Lisa and a bunch of friendly locals, Alan works hard to piece together the mystery of what happened, the summer Albert died. There is talk of ghosts, a lot of laughter and a clandestine adventure to the local circus. Thanks to Alan’s efforts, Lily and Esme have the best summer of their lives and Alan himself learns a lot about friendship and the importance of community.

This is a gorgeous novel aimed at upper Primary school aged children. It never mentions the word Dementia though it’s clear from the outset that both the twins are living with the condition. They’re confused and frequently forgetful. They muddle their memories up with the present and are cared for by a stern live-in carer whom they’ve nicknamed Badger. Quinn does a fantastic job of capturing what their condition seems like to a young boy and, through Alan’s responses, painting a really compelling picture of what it looks like to befriend and accept a person living with Dementia and actually benefit from this relationship. A few of the references are a little dated. The Summer of Lily and Esme was clearly written in a pre-Internet age and yet this doesn’t stop it from being utterly charming and compelling. It’s a treat to read such a rich Dementia narrative set right here in Ireland. This is a very special book.

The Summer of Lily and Esme was published by Poolbeg Press in 1991 

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“Malcolm Orange Disappears” by Jan Carson

Summarising a book you’ve written yourself is a difficult and quite disconcerting thing to do. Malcolm Orange Disappears was my first published novel and, whilst I’m still quite fond of it and certain characters who appear within its pages, six books later, I can definitely see where it could be improved. The story focuses upon eleven year old Malcolm Orange, whose father has abandoned the family in Portland, Oregon. As he attempts to process this troubling situation Malcolm begins to notice he is, quite literally, disappearing. Malcolm’s mother has found a job as an orderly in a retirement village which comes with accommodation. As Malcolm settles into his new home he begins to befriend the elderly residents and together they go on a quest to stop him from disappearing.

Malcolm Orange is a magical realist text which uses metaphor and allegory to explore the various ways the older people in the retirement village feel as if they too are beginning to disappear. The loss of memory is explored at length. Many of the residents are living with Dementia and can’t remember important parts of their own stories. Malcolm and his friend Soren James Blue help the residents to form a kind of support group in order to capture one aspect of their history before it disappears.

“The People’s Committee for Remembering Songs existed solely for the purpose of remembering songs.” It meets several times a week and allows the residents to collectively recall the important songs which have shaped their identities. This section of the novel takes an imaginative look at how community and creative group exercises can, at best, help to slow the advance of Dementia and also help participants to find a sense of support and solidarity in being with others who are going through a similar experience. There is a particularly poignant scene towards the end of the novel where the residents all sing together in unison and experience a kind of miraculous release which doesn’t remove them from the realities of the illness but allows them to feel free and powerful as autonomous individuals. Much of this section was inspired by my own experience of volunteering with an Alzheimer’s Society, Singing for the Brain group.

“Emboldened by the miracles unfolding in every corner of the Treatment Room, the People’s Committee for Remembering Songs whooped and hollered, raising their wrinkled chins and hands in anticipation of further healing. The noise was deafening.”

As mentioned above Malcolm Orange is far from a perfect novel but it does give some interesting insight into how ageing, and in particular Dementia, is viewed from a child’s perspective. It explores the use of Dementia as a literary device for introducing fantastical elements into a story and also touches upon issues of sexuality, disability and autonomy in regards to those living with Dementia within a residential care environment. I hope it also advocates for the power of story in attesting to who a person living with Dementia once was and continues to be. 

Malcolm Orange Disappears was published by Liberties Press in 2014 

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“Small Mercies” by Bridget Krone

This beautiful novel aimed at upper primary children was an absolute joy to read. It’s set in post-apartheid Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and deftly explores a number of complex themes including Apartheid, the care system, class and ethnicity issues and ageing. The theme of Dementia could quite easily have been lost within the scope of the novel. However, Krone does such an excellent job of weaving her story together Dementia never feels like a tokenistic add on. It’s an integral part of the narrative throughout. The illness is written in such a way that young readers will encounter a very realistic, factually accurate depiction of Dementia without feeling threatened or fearful. This is a delicate balance to maintain in children’s and YA Dementia narratives and it’s testament to the skill of Krone’s storytelling that she maintains this balance throughout the novel.

Small Mercies centres around a young girl called Mercy who lives with her two eccentric, elderly foster aunts and their lodger in a ramshackle house on the edge of the town. Mercy is struggling to understand her family situation, the poverty she’s living with and the complex ethnic identity structures of South Africa as played out in her own classroom. She’s constantly worried that a Social Worker might appear and take her away from her beloved aunts. This anxiety intensifies when she realises they may lose their house and that her Aunt Flora’s increasing confusion is actually a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. Eventually neither Mercy nor her Aunt Mary are able to cope with Flora’s confusion, accidents and wanderings. They find a place for her in a residential care facility and Flora must come to terms with losing yet another parent figure. 

Krone does a marvellous job of articulating Mercy’s complicated mix of emotions as she watches her foster family go through some radical and upsetting changes. I particularly loved the honesty with which Mercy describes her embarrassment over how Aunt Flora’s “strange” behaviour might appear to the other children in her school. Krone also writes extremely accurately about the way poverty can take an enormous toll on how a person living with Dementia is cared for. This little novel has a lot of heart. It speaks about the importance of community when it comes to care. It’s funny and wise and full of hope and there’s a brilliant, compelling story running throughout. I enjoyed it immensely and learned quite a bit about South African culture whilst reading it. 

Small Mercies was published by Walker Books in 2020

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“The ACB With Honora Lee” by Kate De Goldi

with illustrations by Gregory O’Brien

I absolutely adored The ACB with Honora Lee. It grabbed me the moment I opened it. I’m always on the look out for books which help children and young adults to understand what it’s like living with Dementia and I could instantly see how this book would appeal to mid-Primary aged children and help them process some difficult issues. Gregory O’Brien’s gorgeous illustrations explode across the inside cover and continue throughout, bringing main character, Perry’s thoughts to life in what look to be a series of colourful mind maps. I particularly enjoyed the way the story and illustrations bring different perspectives to the forefront and yet also compliment each other superbly in this short novel.

Perry is an only child with a very inquisitive outlook. Her favourite word seems to be why. She’s trying to figure out the world around her by constantly bombarding the adults in her life with questions. Sometimes she gets the answers she’s after. Often, she feels as if she’s being fobbed off. Perry has a wonderful relationship with her gran, Honora. She’s been Perry’s go to person but now she lives in a retirement home called Santa Lucia. Perry still visits regularly, accompanied by her parents or more frequently, her childminder Nina and Nina’s son Claude. They not only spend time with Honora but form a kind of community with the other residents.

Within a few chapters it is clear that Perry’s gran isn’t the same as she used to be. Gran is confused and sometimes doesn’t even recognise Perry. Perry finds this a bit distressing but instead of abandoning her trips to Santa Lucia, she tries to find a new way for them to connect. She begins to work with her gran on a school project, compiling a quirky and sometimes confused ABC of the older woman’s life. Through the ACB (as Honora calls it), and time spent together, Perry comes to understand a little more of the illness her gran is living with and finds new ways to bond with her as she now is.

The strength of The ACB with Honora Lee is to be found in the way Kate De Gold allows us to see Dementia through the eyes of a young child. Perry describes and explains things in her own childlike way and I found the tone she takes incredibly reassuring.

“So far, all Perry knew about Gran was her name – Honora Lee- and her age – seventy-six years old – and that she didn’t have a husband or much memory any more, which was why she lived at Santa Lucia and could never get Perry’s father’s name right.”

The book is an excellent resource for children who are learning how to live with a loved one who has Dementia. The tone is upbeat, fun and full of little quirks and yet the book doesn’t shy away from some of the harsher realities of living with Dementia. There are plenty of opportunities presented by the story for talking about the sad and difficult changes Dementia can bring about. However, the message comes across loud and clear in both the written text and the illustrations. A special friend or loved one living with Dementia is still the same special friend or loved one. There are ways in which to continue enjoying your time with them and, if you’re anything like Perry, you might even learn something in the process.

The ACB with Honora Lee was published by Hot Key Books in August 2015 

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A Trilogy of Wonderful Grandpa-themed Picture Books

These three stunning picture books aimed at young readers provide ample opportunity to begin conversations with small children about how what it’s like to watch someone they love grow older. All three explore various forms of ageing, including forgetfulness and the loss of memory. Whilst they don’t explicitly mention Dementia, the implication is there, and the topic is covered in a range of really sensitive age-appropriate ways. The beautiful illustrations enhance the impact of these books and also offer different opportunities to ask questions and begin discussions with young readers, exploring their own experiences of ageing in a safe and enjoyable way.

Grandpa Green – Lane Smith

Grandpa Green is an amazing gardener. In this beautifully illustrated book, his great-grandson leads us around his garden which is populated by all sorts of amazing topiary sculptures: animals, people and even an enormous wedding cake. Grandpa Green is getting old and he sometimes struggles to remember all the amazing things that have happened to him. But it’s ok, because “the gardens remembers for him” and he has a fantastic great-grandson who likes nothing more than to tell Grandpa’s story using all his imaginatively-shaped plants.

Grandpa Green was published by Two Hoots in 2017

My Great Grandpa – Martin Waddell

With illustrations by Dom Mansell

Gran might say “it’s sad to be like Great Grandpa is now!” but his little great granddaughter knows it’s not. She takes her Great Grandpa out on a wonderful adventure around the village he lives in. Great Grandpa tells her all the history he can remember and when his memory runs out, she fills in the rest of the details. Together they make a fantastic team. She doesn’t feel at all sorry for her Great Grandpa though she can see he doesn’t have as much energy as he used to have and sometimes he seems a bit muddled. She’s sure, “Great Grandpa knows things that no one else knows. In his mind he goes places that no one else goes.”

My Great Grandpa was published by Walker Books in 1990

Granpa – John Burningham

A little girl and her grandfather share a very special relationship. Though Granpa’s not as strong as he used to be and sometimes he can’t go out to play, through gorgeous leading questions and beautifully illustrated pictures of the fantastical worlds he conjures up we can see his imagination’s still working well. Granpa might be exhibiting the signs of early Dementia or he might just be playing make believe with his little granddaughter. Burningham doesn’t feel the need to make this explicit and this decision serves the story well. Granpa is a subtle and very clever book which illustrates the way a child’s ability to enter into her grandfather’s confusion about reality could actually help her cope with his Dementia in a loving and imaginative way.

Granpa was published by Puffin Books in 1984