CBR15Passport new to me author (though I had heard the name Jason June, I realized, I have never actually read them!)
Jason June you are a mean, person! How could you pull on my heartstrings with your lovely story of a grandmother elephant and her grandson elephant going through a difficult situation? Why did you make me cry? Of course, you Loren Long, I blame, too! Those sweet, illustrations of adorable elephant ears and big eyes looking up at his grandmother while they do crossword puzzles, or while he is listening to her stories?! And how I adored the baby elephant holding a pencil carefully in his trunk! How could you create such delightful illustrations with fun colors and the right number of details to pull me into the story only to make me cry because they so perfectly accompany the text?
In all seriousness, Never Forget Eleanor is not an easy story. Sure, it is a love story about generations and the friends and family a grandmother loves, and the stories she loves to tell. But it is also a story of a beloved friend and family member slowly going into dementia. We learn Elijah grandmother is dealing with the effects of Alzheimer’s. This thoughtful story shows the effects on the family member, their family, and friends. We also see how the community comes together to help someone (the grandmother, Eleanor) as well.
We the adult reader know what is coming, but that does not make it easier, especially with the sweetness and innocence of our main elephant, Elijah. It is only Longs sensitive art, which is beautiful, and tugs on your heart that helps sooth things, as you can see that Eleanor is not alone, nor is our little guy. Yet, the image of Elijah wrapped in his grandmothers’ words (the words floating around him, hugging) was what made me cry! Then (SPOILER) the end when we see that Elanor’s story came to an end, and our little guy is on the bench? Yes, I needed a big box of tissues.
This is not a book for very young children, but it might help a slightly older one to understand what an older friend or family member is going through. The author and illustrators afterwards are nicely done, and the adult reader should take the time to read them. It might also be something one could give an adult to help them talk to children about the subject, or maybe see some things they too could do to help.