Crumble by Meredith McClaren, illustrated by Andrea Bell (Little, Brown Ink, 208 pages, grades 3-7). Emily’s mother is often traveling to promote the family bakery, so Aunt Gina and Emily run the shop and keep things going back home. The two of them know how to infuse their baked goods with feelings, helping people to feel happier or more relaxed when they eat them. When Aunt Gina suddenly dies in a car accident, Emily and her mom are overwhelmed by grief. The only way Emily knows how to process her feelings is to bake, but baking while sad results in terrible-tasting pastries that somehow no one can stop eating. When Emily ends up making all of her classmates sick, she has to slow down and find new ways to deal with her feelings. She and her mom slowly create a new normal, and the last chapter shows them running a new baking school, while Emily has developed more empathy for people around her who are suffering.
This cheery graphic novel takes an unexpected twist when a panel showing Aunt Gina’s wrecked car changed everything for Emily. From there, the story does an excellent job showing how she processes her grief, feeling overwhelmed by it at first, then slowly finding a way to acknowledge her feelings and move on, even though things will never be the same. The reactions from the other kids–trying to cheer Emily up, asking too many questions about her aunt’s funeral–are helpful in showing readers what may or may not be helpful to those who are grieving.
Cassi and the House of Memories by Dean Stuart (Viking Books for Young Readers, 272 pages, grades 4-7). Cassi loves spending time with her grandparents, but sometimes Grandpa’s mind wanders. When he forgets who she is, Grandma reassures her that he is still there and that he loves her. One day, Cassi goes into the backyard with him, and he disappears into the woods. When she goes in search of him, she discovers a giant structure that looks like Grandpa’s head. Inside, she discovers all kinds of memories from Grandpa’s early life. Cassi is able to put herself into those memories, and in an exciting climax, to help change one of them from a traumatizing event to one that makes Grandpa into a hero. Eventually, she meets up with her present-day grandpa, and he leads her back home, where Grandma is waiting with dinner, not worried at all, just sure that the two of them have been having fun together. An author’s note tells of his experiences with his own father’s dementia and how he created this book for kids who may be dealing with someone in a similar situation.
I saw this book described as “melancholy” in a review, and that’s a perfect word for both the story and the artwork that creates an alternate world inside Grandpa’s head, where memories come and go. Cassi’s ability to change some of the memories demonstrate how selective and imperfect all of our memories are. A thought-provoking book that will help kids see those with dementia in a new way.