From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3AWhen her daughter and great-grandson visit Miss Olivia Wiggins in a nursing home, their words and actions cause the woman to remember significant moments in her life. A repeated phrase, "She didn't move, she didn't even blink, but slowly, quietly she began to think..." signals the change from the present to the past. These remembrances, which occur on every other page, are printed in italics. Through this story, readers will be reassured that older people can have a full inner life and will understand the importance of visiting them. With the growing number of elderly requiring full-time care, this book could fulfill a need. However, its appeal to youngsters is doubtful. Unlike Mem Fox's Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (Kane/Miller, 1985), which addresses a similar subject, the story here is told from an adult perspective. The sun-dappled watercolor illustrations work with the text to present a sanitized, loving tribute to one woman's life. They do try to create a child-oriented connection between the past and the present by including a toy horse in many of the scenes and yet it's not enough. The overall focus of this title remains on the adult with little to engage youngsters.AMartha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ages 5^-9. When her daughter, Angel, and her great-grandson Troy come to visit her in a nursing home, Miss Olivia Wiggins doesn't appear to notice their presence: "She just [sits] there, staring straight ahead, at nothing and at everything." But small things they say and do bring back memories for her. As Troy hums a little tune by her chair, she remembers holding her babies and singing to them, and the smell of the lilacs he has brought her reminds her of a special, long-ago spring day with the man she would marry. Although Troy finds it somewhat puzzling that his great-grandmother doesn't seem the same, he can tell that his visits bring her joy. Realistic watercolors flow gently between present and past in this tender depiction of a life well lived, which speaks to the value of maintaining loving relationships, even when they are altered by Alzheimer's disease.
Susan Dove Lempke
