The Memory Box

Zach has fun helping his Gramps collect memories, photos, and other souvenirs for a "Memory Box" but finds out the next day why Gramps needed to save memories--he has Alzheimer's disease.

Grade 1-3-- Zach's summer visit with his grandparents takes an unexpected turn when he learns that his grandfather has Alzheimer's disease. Gramps tells him that it's time to start a special box to store their family tales and traditions. As the visit progresses, punctuated by several episodes of the illness, Zach and his grandparents reminisce and fill their memory box with mementos of past times together. At the end of his stay, Zach leaves hugging the box, where he will store his memories from the coming year to share with his Gramps and Gram next summer. The bittersweet text is beautifully written, conveying the tender relationships through the young boy's believable narrative. Cunningham's gouache illustrations are lovely, radiating the tranquil peace of the lake, house, and surrounding woods. Simple books on Alzheimer's disease are scarce; Judy Delton's My Grandma's in a Nursing Home (Albert Whitman, 1986), which focuses on a child adjusting to nursing home visits as well as to the illness, is another noteworthy example. However, The Memory Box depicts the early stages of the disease in more detail and offers an imaginative suggestion for positive action. A moving, sympathetic, and ultimately comforting book.
- Judy Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library , LA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gramps sometimes forgets to shave, cuts his feet when he accidentally leaves home without shoes on and talks to a daughter who isn't there. The problem is Alzheimer's disease: he knows it, Gram knows it and young Zach, the narrator, knows it. The memory box is a small carved wooden treasure chest of bits of paper recording the good times, filled by the three of them. This picture book for middle readers refreshingly features a family that talks about difficult topics--and whose members, including Gramps himself, find a way to heal their wounds. When Gramps wanders off, the boy "helped him back to the house. Led him, if you want to know the truth." Rich, uncomplicated illustrations deftly delineate the scene--the berry red house on a lake, quiet blue water, deer in the tall grass--and the players in this quiet and touching drama. Love and reassurance fill these pages--along with the sadness of loss and knowledge that there is more to come. Ages 7-11.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When Zach comes for his annual vacation, Gramps has just learned that he has Alzheimer's. Together, they start a ``Memory Box'': as they reminisce about other years, Gram writes down the stories; they also include this summer's events and find old photos to put into the box. Meanwhile, Gramps has some days when he wanders off or talks to people who aren't there; still, the summer is a happy one despite the anxious times. The realistic conclusion is bittersweet: ``This time Gramps and Gram had taken care of me. Next summer, Gram and I would take care of Gramps. And the summers after that...well, we'd figure out something.'' Cunningham's spare, handsomely designed paintings nicely reflect the text's quiet tone; his people are sturdy and affectionate while his lakeside scenes glow with precisely observed light. Upbeat, but also sensible and perceptive. (Picture book. 6-10) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.