Children - dementia in my family

'Sometimes, a person's brain gets sick with a disease called dementia.'
What does dementia do to the brain? And how can we help if someone we know, like a parent or a grandparent, has the disease? This book breaks down misconceptions about dementia and speaks directly to children about the realities of the disease, using age appropriate language in an engaging and informative way. It includes a diverse audience of characters, to emphasise that ANY child can be impacted by dementia in their loved ones. Unlike traditional storybooks, the ending provides a question for the adult and child reading it to ponder together. It reassures parents of the value of open and honest conversation about the challenges raised by dementia and offers advice and support in the opening 'Guide for grown ups'.

Supported by Professor Ralph Martins' Q&A and Maggie Beer's healthy lunchboxes, Dancing with Memories provides a platform to raise awareness, alleviate fears and facilitate conversation with children around brain health. It highlights the importance of a life-long healthy diet and lifestyle, and empowers children to engage with hope and intent in the growing social challenge of dementia.

Themes covered in this story of curiosity and sleuthing:
• The notion of walking (not wandering) with dementia. An acknowledgement of the purposeful undertaking of this activity.
• The use of reminiscing and dementia.
• The value of dementia friendly communities to ensure an individual can live their best life.

What do you get when you put together the coolest kid in class, an unpredictable live-in grandmother,
and a caring but anxious grandson? Disaster? No. You get to know Ruben Plotnick. David is worried
about how zany Ruben Plotnick will react when he meets Grandma Rosie, who often says and does
unexpected things. Will Ruben make fun of her to their classmates? Will he imitate her whispery voice?
What will he do if Grandma Rosie suddenly wants to dance?

Julia remembers when Grandma was still her old sweet self - when she still made fried chicken and biscuits the times Julia visited, and her eyes twinkled like candles on a cake. But ever so slowly, Grandma has been getting more forgetful. Soon, she can't even remember Julia's name, and her family sees that Grandma can no longer take care of herself. How Julia and her parents cope with these difficult changes makes for a gentle and reassuring story about a young child's unconditional love for a cherished grandparent.

Author Karen Tyrrell shares memory and coping skills for memory loss in a heart warming humorous story. ‘Harry and Grandpa love playing hide -and-seek together. Over time Grandpa becomes grumpy and forgetful, refusing to play games with Harry anymore. On Grandparent’s Day, Grandpa becomes confused and lost. He couldn’t even remember Harry’s name. Then Harry discovers clever ways to boost Grandpa’s memory. How does Harry help Grandpa remember?’

Under the rose bush is a short story which explores a touching relationship between a young girl and her grandmother who develops Alzheimers disease.
Sarah and her Granny are great friends. They spend a lot of time playing and learning together, gradually Sarah notices changes in her Granny. Sarah learns to adjust to the situation as her grandmother ages. Her story provides a sense of optimism despite the grief of eventually losing her beloved grandmother.

When everything is topsy turvy what do you notice when you take the time to slow down, think and listen?

"Have you ever wondered why a butterfly lives for only a few weeks? Or why a tree lives for hundreds of year? You may have been sad when someone in your family, or a favourite pet became sick and died. There is a beginning and an ending to everything that is alive. In between is a lifetime. Dying is a much a part of living as being born."

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When precocious eleven-year-old Sophie sets out to save her elderly neighbor (who is also her dearest friend), her journey will take her through their familiar suburban landscape and then, steadily yet unexpectedly, deeper into a landscape of history and shared stories. Everyone knows the two Sophies are best friends. One is in elementary school, and one is . . . well . . . in a little trouble of late. She's elderly, sure, but she's always been on her game, the best friend any girl struggling to fit in could ever have. The Sophies drink tea, have strong opinions about pretty much everything, and love each other dearly. Now it seems the elder Sophie is having memory problems, burning teakettles, and forgetting just about everything. It looks like her son is going to come and get her and steal her away forever. Young Sophie isn't having that. Not one bit. So she sets out to help elder Sophie's memory, with the aid of her neighborhood friends Ralphie and Oliver. But when she opens the floodgates of elder Sophie's memories, she winds up listening to stories that will illustrate just how much there is to know about her dear friend, stories of war, hunger, cruelty, and ultimately love.

This book shows an eleven-year-old boy slowly realising that something is going wrong with Mum’s memory. Jordan copes as best he can but sometimes he gets so frustrated! Jordan decides he needs help and reaches out to family and friends. As Jorden gets more practical help he begins to acknowledge the losses that dementia is bringing into his life. The book reassures young readers and parents about the value of open and honest communication, naming difficulties and working together to find solutions.

*Staff recommendation for younger readers

Iris's grandmother, Mimi, has started to put jam on her scrambled eggs and tie yellow ribbons around her fingers to remind her of stuff. Her house, always full of things, is becoming harder and harder to navigate, and when Iris goes to stay, she feels as if a whole life is becoming muddled up. As her grandmother's memory fades, a mystery is uncovered. Who is Coral, and what happened to her?

Please Explain Alzheimer's Disease to Me introduces the condition to children in a colorful, sensitive and gentle story, followed by a parent/caregiver section that supplies comprehensive information that adults can use to understand and plan for the course of the disease affecting their loved one. Dr. Zelinger, a board-certified psychologist for children, presents the situation to children in a warm, developmentally appropriate way using appealing characters of diversity, child friendly language and familiar scenes they can relate to, as well as scripts that parents can use when speaking to their child.

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Allison has run away from home and finds herself hiding out in the shed of what she thinks is an abandoned house. But the house isn't empty. An elderly woman named Marla, with dementia, lives there -- and she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past called Toffee. Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be. And so, Toffee is who she becomes. After all, it means she has a place to stay. There are worse places she could be. But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real friend, she begins to ask herself - where is home? What is a family? And most importantly, who am I, really?

Brie's Granddad has always been a serious man, never without a newspaper and knowing the answer to everything. But now he keeps losing track of the conversation, and honestly, Brie doesn't really know how to speak to him. At first, Fred was annoyed that Gramps had come to live with them, it meant he had to give up his room! But then he starts to enjoy watching old films with him and spending time together... although there's the small problem of Gramps calling him Simon. Follow the stories of Brie, Fred, and other young carers as they try to understand and cope with their grandparents' dementia at all stages of the illness. Adapted from true stories, and supplemented with fun activities and discussion ideas, this book for children aged approximately 7-14 cuts to the truth of the experience of dementia and tackles stigma with a warm and open perspective.

This book offers insight into what dementia is and how you can interact positively with and assist someone who has dementia. Featuring personal anecdotes from young people who have gone through this themselves, and with thoughtful advice from professionals.

View all the resources available in our eCollection for younger readers

Foster suddenly recognised the feeling that rolled over him and made him feel sick. It was this: Dad was going away somewhere all on his own. And Foster was already missing him.
Foster Sumner is seven years old. He likes toy soldiers, tadpole hunting, going to school and the beach. Best of all, he likes listening to his dad's stories.
But then Foster's dad starts forgetting things. No one is too worried at first. Foster and Dad giggle about it. But the forgetting gets worse. And suddenly no one is laughing anymore.

Year Twelve is not off to a good start for Amelia. Art is her world, but her art teacher hates everything she does ; her best friend has stopped talking to her ; her mother and father may as well be living in separate houses; and her father is slowly forgetting everything. Even Amelia.

Three women - three secrets - one heart-stopping story. Katie, seventeen, in love with someone whose identity she can't reveal. Her mother Caroline, uptight, worn out and about to find the past catching up with her. Katie's grandmother, Mary, back with the family after years of mysterious absence and 'capable of anything', despite living with Alzheimer's disease. As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to her.

Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. A Harvard professor, she has a successful husband and three grown children. When she begins to grow forgetful, she dismisses it for as long as she can, but when she gets lost in her own neighbourhood she knows that something has gone terribly wrong. She finds herself in the rapidly downward spiral of Alzheimer's Disease. She is fifty years old. Suddenly she has no classes to teach, no new research to conduct, no invited lectures to give. Ever again. Unable to work, read and, increasingly, take care of herself, Alice struggles to find meaning and purpose in her everyday life as her concept of self gradually slips away.

We Are Not Ourselves follows the life of Eileen Tumulty, born to Irish parents and brought up in the New York City borough of Queens. From an early age, Eileen is determined to better herself and rise above her humble beginnings. She meets and marries Ed Leary, a young scientist, believing he is the key to her escape. What Eileen slowly and painstakingly begins to realise is that Ed does not share her desire to become upwardly mobile. While Eileen forges ahead in her career, Ed plods along, refusing to take up any offers of promotion. When the couple eventually have a child, Eileen transfers some of her ambitions to her son. She dreams of moving her family to a leafier suburb and does, in the end, get her way. Though, just as things seem to be looking up, Ed is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.