Books on dementia
Dementia is a difficult thing to deal with and it can be hard to talk about with your loved ones.
If you're looking for some books for children and young teens to help start a difficult conversation, check out these books, which look at dementia and its impact on families in different ways.
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Heartbeat
Author: Sharon Creech
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Interest age: 8+
Reading age: 8+Annie loves drawing, running barefoot, her family, and possibly Max, her running partner. It’s an eventful time for the 12-year-old: as her mother is about to give birth, her beloved grandfather is sliding slowly into dementia.
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The Lotterys Plus One
Author: Emma Donoghue Illustrator: Caroline Hadilaksono
Publisher: MacMillan
Interest age: 9-13
Reading age: 9+Sumac lives with her huge and diverse family. All is chaotic, offbeat brilliance until the 82-year-old grandfather the kids have never met moves in. Told with utter charm and a lightness of touch, ultimately The Lotterys Plus One is about acceptance.
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Sundae Girl
Author: Cathy Cassidy
Publisher: Penguin
Interest age: 9+
Reading age: 9+All teenagers are embarrassed by their parents but Jude feels she has more reason than most to cringe when hers are around her in public.
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Clarice Bean, That's Me
Author: Lauren Child
Publisher: Orchard Books
Interest age: 6+
Reading age: 7+Clarice Bean gives us a snapshot of her life and family in the book that launched a bestselling series.
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The Memory Cage
Author: Ruth Eastham
Publisher: Scholastic
Interest age: 9+
Reading age: 9+Alex needs to act fast or his family will be torn apart
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Back to Blackbrick
Author: Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
Interest age: 11+
Reading age: 10+When Cosmo steps through the crumbling gates of the mysterious Blackbrick Abbey, he comes face to face with his Grandad as a young man.
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Stonebird
Author: Mike Revell
Publisher: Quercus
Interest age: 11-13
Reading age: 9An accessible and engaging story about the sadness and joy of family life and the power of memory, magic and storytelling.
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Grandma
Author: Jessica Shepherd
Publisher: Child's Play
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 4+This is a sensitive and touching picture book that helps young children understand dementia.
