Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost

By Betina Birkjær, Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard (Illustrator), Sinéad Quirke Køngerskov (Translator)

A child navigates the challenges of a grandparent's fading memory.

4.4/5 Goodreads · 453 ratings

44 pages

$17.95Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

Stump cherishes time with his grandparents, but when Grandpa's memory fades, words slip away. As Grandpa forgets more each day, Stump collects these lost words, hoping to preserve their bond. One snowy night, Grandpa goes missing, prompting Stump and Grandma to find new ways to connect and reassure him he's not alone. This tender tale explores love, memory, and the enduring ties of family.

From the publisher

A beautiful, candid picture book for children to understand what happens when a loved one begins suffering from dementia, and how best to care for them.A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the 21st Century (So Far) A 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book A Finalist for the 2022 Kirkus Prize in Young Readers’ Literature A USBBY Outstanding International Book of 2022 A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2022 A 2021 Penn Graduate School of Education Best Book for Young Readers Gerontological Society of America Book Award for Best Children’s Literature on Aging of 2022, Honorable Mention Stump loves being with his grandparents. His days with them are filled with flowers, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, and so much love! But one day, Stump’s grandfather starts to be forgetful, losing his words, which the illustrations how as falling away from him. Stump tries his best to keep his grandfather’s lost words safe, by collecting them in a special box. But Grandpa seems to forget more and more every day, and before long, Stump and Grandma realize that they must find new ways to connect with Grandpa, to maintain their bond of love and show him that he’s not alone. This poignant, tender picture book depicts the warmth of the relationship between grandchild and grandparents, as well as the struggle of coping with a loved one’s dementia with honesty and sensitivity. Following the story, there is an afterword to the adult reader about dementia and recollection, written by the head of the Danish Center for Reminiscence, which provides some practical tips, such as those depicted in the story (familiar smells, sharing items from the past), for establishing a meaningful way of being together when caring for a relative with dementia.