The Memory Book:
I will always remember you . . .
I will always remember you . . .
Joanna Rowland's best-selling The Memory Box: A Book about Grief has helped thousands of children and families work through the complex emotions that arise after the loss of a loved one. Now, with The Memory Book, Rowland has created a beautiful grief journal to help readers put her methods into practice.
The Memory Book helps grieving families process their emotions together by remembering their lost loved one and creating their own memory album full of photos and keepsakes of the person they lost. With gentle prompts and ideas for journaling, drawing, and talking through grief, this journal will bring comfort in the midst of loss and be a keepsake for families for years to come.
The Memory Box:
"I'm scared I'll forget you…"
From the perspective of a young child, Joanna Rowland artfully describes what it is like to remember and grieve a loved one who has died. The child in the story creates a memory box to keep mementos and written memories of the loved one, to help in the grieving process. Heartfelt and comforting, The Memory Box will help children and adults talk about this very difficult topic together. The unique point of view allows the reader to imagine the loss of any they have loved - a friend, family member, or even a pet. A parent guide in the back includes expert information from a Christian perspective on helping children manage the complex and difficult emotions they feel when they lose someone they love, as well as suggestions on how to create their own memory box.
The Memory Box is a 2017 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards winner—a contest intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children's books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading.
The Memory Box received the Mom's Choice Award Gold Medal. The Mom's Choice Awards® (MCA) evaluates products and services created for children, families and educators. The program is globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services.
The Memory Box was chosen as a finalist for the 2017 Midwest Book Award in the Children's Picture Books category. The awards recognize quality in independent publishing in the Midwest, including creativity in content and execution, overall book quality, and the book's unique contribution to its subject area.
Endorsements:
"A small children's book can't say everything, but it can say something very important. This wonderfully illustrated book does just that. Joanna Rowland gently reminds a hurting child that amid the pain of losing a loved one to death, their love remains alive in memory and relationships, and that love is not diminished even as the child is called to go on living. Many young (and old!) hearts will find real comfort and courage in these pages."
—Sue Atkins, author of Parenting Made Easy: How to Raise Happy Children
Reviews:
"Baker's mixed-media collages integrate bits of fabric and softly textured papers, creating a homey atmosphere that dovetails nicely with the girl's homemade box."
—Publishers Weekly
"Heartfelt and comforting, The Memory Box is beautifully illustrated by Thea Baker and will help adults talk about this very difficult topic with children ages 4 to 8."
—Midwest Book Review, The Psychology Shelf
Joanna Rowland grew up in Sacramento, California, where she still lives today with her husband and three children. She teaches kindergarten by day and writes picture books at night. In the summer, you'll find her at the pool coaching synchronized swimming or cozying up with a book. She is the author of The Memory Box: A Book about Grief, The Memory Book: A Grief Journal for Children and Families, and Stay Through the Storm.
Thea Baker grew up in a country town in England. She is currently living in Australia and working internationally as a children's illustrator. Thea obtained her BA (Hons) Degree in illustration at the prestigious Falmouth University. Her dissertation was on the subject of grief in children's books.
As parents, there is nothing we would love more in this world than to shield our children from the tough stuff. We want our children to be happy. If we could keep our children from ever feeling pain or grief, we would surely do that for them. Unfortunately though, that is just not possible. Try as we may, children will experience tough stuff. They will experience pain. They will experience illness. And they likely will experience grief as well.
While we cannot take away these difficult moments, what we can do as parents is to be there to guide them through and provide the necessary tools to help them deal with it. When our child is sick, we are there to take them to the doctor and nurse them through it. That comes quite naturally to many of us. But what about grief? How can we help our kids deal with the loss of someone close to them? Navigating that tough moment can be a little bit harder...
The Memory Book and The Memory Box are great tools to help us to do just that.
Let's start with The Memory Book. Journaling is such a great way to deal with and process our emotions at ANY age, and this journal was specifically written with kids and grief in mind. It gives them a chance to document their thoughts and their memories in a keepsake book that they will always be able to look back on. I absolutely love this idea...and the execution is as beautiful as the concept.
But sometimes kids aren't quite able to express those feelings just yet... for that, The Memory Box is another great tool, sharing the story of a girl dealing with her own grief. Following the story of someone going through the same thing they are currently dealing with can really help kids better understand those thoughts and emotions.
While I cannot say that these are books that you will WANT to have to read with your children, they are certainly books that you will be glad to have if or when they are needed.
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One very lucky reader is going to win a set of two books: The Memory Book: A Grief Journal for Children and Families by Joanna Rowland and illustrated by Thea Baker (Beaming Books; ISBN: 978-1506457819; Hardcover $17.99; Ages 3-8; 64 pages), a follow up and companion to the bestselling picture book The Memory Box: A Book about Grief (ISBN: 978-1506426723; Hardcover $16.99; Ages 3-8). Enter using the giveaway form below:
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