Kiera loves spending time with her grandma. They play dress up. They paint their nails. They make cookies for picnics with Kiera's doll. But then Grandma starts to change. She starts misplacing items and forgetting how to do everyday tasks. Soon she has to move out of her home into a memory-care center for people with Alzheimer's. She starts calling Kiera by a different name. Then Kiera has an idea and finds a new way to enjoy time with her Grandma. A Doll for Grandma is perfect for children grappling with their changing relationship with a family member who has dementia or Alzheimer's disease. A special page with information on helping children understand Alzheimer's disease written by expert Judy Cornish, the founder of the Dementia and Alzheimer's Well Being Network is included for family discussion.
Paulette Bochnig Sharkey is the author of dozens of articles and puzzles for children's magazines. A Doll for Grandma is her first picture book. She worked for many years as a librarian, first in her home state of Michigan, and later in Australia, Nevada, and Wisconsin. She has also been a recipe indexer and a transcriber of children's books from print into braille. Now retired, Paulette spends her time writing, reading, and playing the piano. Her inspiration for this story came from working as a volunteer pianist with memory-care residents and from caring for family members with dementia. Both brought moments of great joy and fulfillment. Paulette lives in East Lansing, Michigan, with her husband and their big grey cat, and travels to visit her daughter and grandson as often as possible. They often bake molasses cookies together, using an old family recipe. Samantha Woo lives in Southern California and studied illustration at the Laguna College of Art + Design. Her passion is shared between creating simple, bright, and colorful story book illustrations and designing greeting cards and stationery. Most of all, she loves to make people smile through her art.
"Full of heart, A Doll for Grandma perfectly captures the special bond between grandparent and grandchild, while delicately exploring the challenges of memory loss and aging." --Julie Abery, author of Yusra Swims and the Little Animal Friends series "This tender story illuminates the difficult topic of memory loss and provides a guide for families navigating this health challenge, while ultimately communicating that the love between child and grandparent remains unchanged. An important tool for families experiencing Alzheimer's Disease." --Laura Renauld, author of Porcupine's Pie and Fred's Big Feelings: The Life and Legacy of Mister Rogers "A Doll For Grandma is tender and rich with emotion: love, loss and the joy of finding each other again. It tackles a difficult issue with sensitivity, in a way that can be understood by the youngest children." --Kate Simpson, author of Finding Granny and host of the One More Page podcast "Paulette Bochnig Sharkey does a wonderful job of addressing the challenges families face while coping with memory loss." --Jaclyn Guenette RSW, DCA, author of I Smile for Grandpa "A Doll for Grandma is a reassuring and gentle look at how dementia affects our love ones. An important book to share with those in the same position as the main character, Kiera, and even with those that aren't." --Clare Helen Welsh, author of The Tide "A tender story about the delights of intergenerational bonds, this book presents Alzheimer's disease to children within a comfortable context, helping to ease confusion and answer questions about the changes in a beloved grandparent." --Rosie J. Pova, author of Sunday Rain "A gentle, reassuring and powerful text that can help children understand and navigate a grandparent's change across time." --Laura Apol, PhD, Poet and Professor of Children's Literature, Michigan State University College of Education
