My New Granny
Elisabeth Steinkellner, Author
Michael Roher, Illustrator
Connie Straddling Morby, Translation
Sky Pony Press, Fiction, September 2012
Suitable for: Ages 4-8
Themes: Grandmother, Aging, Dementia, Family, Love, Acceptance
Opening/Synopsis: My old Granny used to make a fuss about my hairdo. “Fini, what have you done to your beautiful hair again?” she sighed and shook her head, not understanding.” Fini’s Granny used to comment on her strange hair styles, help her feed the ducks in the park and cooked exotic meals from the strange places she visited. Fini’s Granny has changed. She likes her unusual hairdo, eats the bread crumbs instead of feeding them to the ducks and moves into Fini’s house. Fini is puzzled by Granny’s strange behavior and isn’t sure how she feels about the changes. Granny used to take care of her, now she and her family have to help Granny.
Why I like this book: Elisabeth Steinkellner has written a touching and empathetic story about an aging grandparent who is suffering from dementia. She realistically captures Fini’s confusion about the changes that occur when her Granny is diagnosed with dementia. But Fini learns to love and accept the changes of her new Granny. With the growing number of older adults affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia, this is a helpful resource for children. The author is from Austria and the book has been translated into English by Connie Straddling Morby.
Michael Roher’s illustrations have an Austrian flavor. His technique is unusual and he offered to share his process. “I used colored ink (fine-pen and marker) as well as red and brown pencils and pastels,” says Roher. “For some surfaces I used a monoprint-technique to create interesting structures. I used a roll to apply the color (water-soluble color for linoleum-prints) on the paper, cut out the pieces I needed and glued them onto my pictures.” His illustrations are unique, warm and show compassion among the characters.
Resources: Parents may want to check out the Kids and Teen page of the Alzheimer’s Association and a post from the Carolina Parent blog about Talking to Kids About Aging Grandparents.
This book has been provided to me free of charge by the publisher in exchange for an honest review of the work.
Children's Books Heal 
This book sounds like it covers an ever increasing topic, delicately, for the young and even older kids. I love the way this author captures the differences in the Grandparent and the confusion of little Fini. It can be hard for little ones to understand. What a lovely resource, Pat.
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Yes Diane, I think you are right because the numbers are increasing for many reasons. The author does a brilliant job of capturing the child’s confusion.
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I love the comment about eating the breadcrumbs instead of feeding the ducks, what a great portrail of a hard subject to teach kids. I love Austria too, I taught English there for four weeks, the colorful houses are so pretty in the snow.
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Catherine, I’m glad you liked the selection. I liked some of the humor in the story. Although confusing for Fini, in the end she comes to acceptance and has a fun with Granny. Would love to visit Austria.
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What a wonderful-sounding, much-needed book. The changes in a person with dementia are difficult for adults to deal with, they must be totally baffling for children. I love the idea of the “new granny” and learning to love her as she is. Thank you for this, Pat.
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Beth, I’m pleased you liked the book. I thought of your reading to seniors as I wrote it and some of your posts.
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I love how European the illustrations look and enjoyed reading Roher’s process. A picture book like this could help adults and children alike, I think, to process and accept the changes in an aging grandparent! Great review and resource suggestions, Pat!
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Joanna, thought you’d like this one. The illustrations are very European and I knew you’d appreciate that fact. Think you’d like the illutrator as his style is so unique.
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My mom has dementia but essentially is the age of a grandparent. My parents didn’t plan their family well at all and had me when she was 40. That’s really old to have kids. So now that I’m 40 she’s 80, and has dementia. I’m envious of people who are my age that have parents who still have their wits about them. But at the same time, I can understand how devastating and strange this kind of disease is. Over Thanksgiving, my mom stayed up all night in the dark talking and arguing with people who weren’t there. Started about midnight and she was still at it at 10:30 a.m.
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Michael, Wow! Thank you for sharing. That must be very hard on you, but I can imagine how upsetting and frightening it would be for a young child to eperience such a long episode like you experienced. I looked out for a tween whose grandmother lived with her family. Her granny had Alzheimer’s and it was both upsetting and funny at times, but she learned to adjust. Wish I had a book like this for her then. Now her mother (an older parent) has Alzheimer’s and she has taken her into her home, where her two daughters have watched their granny change. Going through it twice has been very hard on my grown friend. That’s why we need books for kids!
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This sounds like a wonderful and very valuable book, Pat. My MIL is in the same situation as the granny in this book, and though my kids are older and better able to understand, I think there are a lot of younger kids who would find this very helpful.
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Yes, at some point it touches all of our lives. We all know someone. That’s why books like “My New Granny” are so important for young children as many will at some point face this change with a grandparent or family member.
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What a great resource for a family going through that kind of change. Alzheimer’s is a mysterious, unpredictable thing, and difficult for even an adult to understand.
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And, even harder for children. But, the author has done a lovely job of including some humor making the subject not so scary. Great book for parents to read with their children.
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Wonderful theme for a children’s story. So many families and grand-kids are dealing with this right now. Kudos for writing this, Elizabeth. I sent it around my Social Networking sites.
Books for Kids – Manuscript Critiques
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Thank you Margot for your lovely comments and for sending it around your social networking sites. It’s an important book.
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Yes, we all know someone like this. I may get this book for my neighbor! I even took her mother for walks when she was able and it did a number on me to be not remembered as a person that did her a favor. She never remembered my name and it definitely became a bigger and bigger favor. We all want something even it it’s only being remembered as doing something nice for you. 🙂
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Clar, I think we all are affected when we know someone with dementia. I’m beginning to think this book is good for adults too. If it is challenging for adults, it is very confusing for kids.
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Wow. This is a hard topic. This book is probably going to be of real help to children. I wonder what it is like to live with/know someone who is suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s. My great-grandfather (94), and all three of my grandparents that are still living (about 60-70) do not have this. It would be very hard I think. I am going to see if our library has this book.
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Erik, I was hoping you would have time to visit and give us a kid’s view point. It is a hard subject. Your grandparents are young – cough, cough — I keep forgetting your age! We have an uncle who is 95 and very sharp. My father was very sharp in his late 80s. But my mother-in-law did have Alzheimer’s at 92 and didn’t know anyone at the end. She didn’t live near, so my daughter was to young to understand. I think a book like this would be good read for the entire family of someone with dementia.
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This sounds like a touching story. The more I work with the kids, the more I love to find books like this that can better help them understand things that happen in life. And the cover is darling. 🙂
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Leigh, I’m glad you liked the choice. Am also happy you enjoy your work with kids.
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This looks fabulous!
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Julie, it is a very moving story with a touch of humor. Highly recommend.
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Putting it on my list right now!
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Great — I think you will enjoy the book Very sensitive story!
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I found this difficult to read about…very close to the mark, lately. I am concerned that families do not want to take care of their ageing and vulnerable parents. Touching!
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Niamh, this is a touching and relevant story today — especially since we are living longer.
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I just read this (over and over!) on your suggestion AND I LOVE IT!!!! Thank SO much Pat!
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I’m so happy you liked the book. It’s quite unique, helping Granny get dressed — a European touch! I couldn’t help but giggle.
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I don’t buy many books, but I may just have to have this one!
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