Helping Children Understand

Alzheimer’s Disease

As Alzheimer’s disease gradually changes Grandpa Dan, Grandson Danny learns there is one important thing that never changes.

Some children ask difficult questions about Alzheimer’s disease. Other children don’t want to talk about it at all. Both reactions leave parents and other adults wondering what to say or do. Flowers for Grandpa Dan: A gentle story to help children understand Alzheimer’s disease is a new resource that can be of help in both cases.

Written by Connie McIntyre, M.Ed., this beautifully illustrated picture book follows a family through the complete disease process, creating numerous opportunities for children and adults to talk about their feelings and experiences. An informational page at the end of the book, provided by the St. Louis Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, gives adults facts and suggestions that will help them inform and reassure children.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

We grew lots of flowers last year, too, didn’t we, Grandpa?” Danny asked one sunny afternoon, as they weeded between the snapdragons. Grandpa Dan looked puzzled for a moment. “Hmmm. I guess we did,” he said.

A poignant and perceptive account of a child coping with the loss of his beloved grandfather to Alzheimer’s dementia.
- Dr. Burton Wheeler
Close to Me, but Far Away

The three Daniels dug up a geranium from their yard and planted it in the pot. Every day, Grandpa Dan watered the plant. Sometimes he forgot that he had watered it, and he watered it again and again. Soon the geranium drowned and died.

Connie McIntyre, M.Ed., has a passion for creating hand-bound keepsake books that help families remember their stories. She is also coauthor of Upside Downside Inside Out ~ Poems about Being a Kid. Connie lives with her husband and their three children in Saint Louis, Missouri. She thanks her mother, Louise, for teaching her to plant ferns in the shade and roses in the sun.

Louise McIntyre is a watercolor, oil, and textile artist. She has created countless paintings, weavings, quilts, and other works of art, and has taught generations of young people to knit. She is also the author and illustrator of Danish Pastry. Louise and her husband live on their family farm in Nebraska, where they raised six children and taught them to grow corn, wheat, and gardens overflowing with flowers.

Danny and his parents visited often. Sometimes they brought flowers, and sometimes the flowers made Grandpa Dan smile. But slowly, Grandpa Dan even forgot how to smile. Danny and his parents still brought flowers at times, though. They were sure that the beautiful blooms made Grandpa Dan smile somewhere on the inside.

Book Review

Flowers for Grandpa Dan is indeed a “gentle story.” Without extraneous elements or didactics, it shows a family coping with Alzheimer’s disease, nurturing the essence of their loved one that enables them to connect with him and preserve his legacy.

Louise McIntyre’s delicate watercolor illustrations and the book’s life-affirming apple green accent color perfectly complement the story. The illustrations depict flowers, not people, making it easier for readers to identify with the characters and retelling the story through metaphor.

Whether children are full of questions or reluctant to acknowledge changes in their loved ones, Flowers for Grandpa Dan invites discussion about Alzheimer’s disease. An informational section provided by the Alzheimer’s Association, St. Louis Chapter, outlines the wide array of emotions that children might experience as they see changes in a loved one. These emotions may manifest themselves in many different ways. The informational section suggests ways to answer children’s questions about the changes and the disease, and ways that children can maintain a meaningful relationship with their loved one.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Flowers for Grandpa Dan are donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Fran Hamilton

Author/Book Reviewer

Book Review

Four and a half million Americans suffer with Alzheimer’s disease, leaving countless children bewildered and upset by the changes that they witness in their loved one. Some children ask difficult questions. Other children don’t want to talk about it. Both reactions leave parents and other adults wondering what to say or do. Flowers for Grandpa Dan: A gentle story to help children understand Alzheimer’s disease is a new resource that can be of help in both cases.

Written by Connie McIntyre, M.Ed., this beautifully illustrated picture book follows a family through the complete disease process, creating numerous opportunities for children and adults to talk about their own feelings and experiences. An informational page at the end of the book, provided by the St. Louis Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, gives adults facts and suggestions that will help them inform and reassure children.

The story centers on young Danny, who enjoys gardening with his father and grandfather and doesn’t want anything to change. But Alzheimer’s disease changes Grandpa Dan. He forgets how to garden. He even forgets Danny’s name. Through it all, Danny learns there is one important thing that never changes.

It is interesting to note that this book about three generations coping with change was created by a mother-daughter team: Connie McIntyre, M.Ed., coauthor of Upside Downside Inside Out ~ Poems about Being a Kid, and her mother, Louise McIntyre, author/illustrator of Danish Pastry. In remembrance of their family’s experiences with the disease, the McIntyres have designated a portion of the proceeds from sales of this book to be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Flowers for Grandpa Dan: A gentle story to help children understand Alzheimer’s disease is available in paperback through your favorite bookstore. Hardcover ($17.95) and paperback ($12.95) editions are available through the publisher: Thumbprint Press, P.O. Box 11343, St. Louis, MO 63105, and online at www.thumbpress.com. Contact the publisher for information about volume discounts: thumbpress@aol.com