The Treasure Box
Author - Dave Keane
Illustrator- Rahele Jomepour Bell
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
As we get closer to Remembrance Day and all that it encompasses, I thought a book that speaks to and honours grieving, remembering and loving, would be fitting and respectful.
Grief is such an important emotion but unfortunately one which is incredibly difficult to discuss with young children. This book celebrates the relationship between a child and their Grandfather, the special traditions they create together and the grieving process when one of them must say Goodbye.
A child and her Grandfather share an interest in hunting for and saving treasures. Whether it be round smooth rocks, a tiny birds nest or a crinkly snake skin, they relish in the finding and observing of each treasure. When her Grandparents visit, the child must wait patiently while the grown ups drink tea and chat but then she and her Grandfather explore their current treasures and go on the hunt for more. Grandpa dons his blue cap and off they go in search of treasures, finding a rusty spring, a dolls lost arm and a cracked open robin’s egg. When Grandpa gets sick the child studies her treasures and remembers her Grandfathers funny faces that he would make. As time goes by, Grandpa is no longer able to explore but the child continues to share her findings with him, and although Grandpa has tubes in his nose he is still able to make his funny faces and their shared experience is still a happy one. When Grandpa passes away, the child struggles with her emotions. At his memorial she is not able to eat the tiny sandwiches and can’t relate to the photos of her Grandpa with lots of hair and smooth skin, she says Goodbye to her Grandpa in her heart. She no longer finds that she can explore her treasures, having a hard time even opening the latch on her special treasure box, but when Grammy eventually comes back to visit she has some gifts from Grandpa. After sitting and crying for some time, the child shares the beautiful treasures she has discovered with her Grandpa with Grammy. Then, donning her Grandpa’s blue hat they set off on their walk to find interesting and amazing things for their secret treasure box.
When a person passes we may find ourselves holding onto the memories we create with them. Even though I am in my 50’s, some of my fondest and most treasured memories of my Grandad involve him pushing me on a swing and me holding onto his hand as we walked up the hill at a local park. This beautiful book will allow us to respectfully honour these relationships and the grief that should happen when a Grandparent passes. As we are reminded on the back on this gorgeous book “Time with grandparents is the greatest treasure of all”.
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