Nana's Magic Swing Reviews
KIRKUS BOOK REVIEW
A boy copes with the death of his great-grandmother by sharing memories with others in Shindle’s debut picture book.
Graham loves going to his Nana’s house. Specifically, he loves her “pillow-soft lap” and how she calls him a “honeybunch of stink weeds.” Most of all, he loves her backyard’s “magic swing.” Each visit, they get out a map and decide where the swing will take them. Together, they imagine adventures, such as flying from Canada to Australia. But one day, Graham finds out that his Nana has died, and he’s unsure how to handle it. A family gathering where they remember and talk about Nana is hard for him; the funeral, where Graham sees Nana’s body, is difficult, too. He struggles with being sad, mad, and worried, but when his siblings join him on the magic swing, he finds Nana’s map in the cushions and realizes he can share her magic. Overall, this is a touching and straightforward work. Helpful notes at the end will assure grieving children that whatever feelings they have about loss are OK, and they offer tips on how to cope. Shindle’s prose is simple enough for independent readers to grasp, and the illustrations of Graham’s Caucasian family land somewhere between cartoonish and realistic.
An approachable book about losing a loved one and honoring their memory.
Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744
indie@kirkusreviews.com
A boy copes with the death of his great-grandmother by sharing memories with others in Shindle’s debut picture book.
Graham loves going to his Nana’s house. Specifically, he loves her “pillow-soft lap” and how she calls him a “honeybunch of stink weeds.” Most of all, he loves her backyard’s “magic swing.” Each visit, they get out a map and decide where the swing will take them. Together, they imagine adventures, such as flying from Canada to Australia. But one day, Graham finds out that his Nana has died, and he’s unsure how to handle it. A family gathering where they remember and talk about Nana is hard for him; the funeral, where Graham sees Nana’s body, is difficult, too. He struggles with being sad, mad, and worried, but when his siblings join him on the magic swing, he finds Nana’s map in the cushions and realizes he can share her magic. Overall, this is a touching and straightforward work. Helpful notes at the end will assure grieving children that whatever feelings they have about loss are OK, and they offer tips on how to cope. Shindle’s prose is simple enough for independent readers to grasp, and the illustrations of Graham’s Caucasian family land somewhere between cartoonish and realistic.
An approachable book about losing a loved one and honoring their memory.
Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744
indie@kirkusreviews.com
RESOURCE LINKS
Connecting Classrooms, Libraries and Canadian Learning Resources
Janet Shindle is a retired social worker who has worked extensively with children and adults who have struggled with loss. This story is based on her own son’s reaction to the passing of the author’s grandmother.
This is the story of the love between four year old Graham and his great grandmother Nana. Nana’s home is full of love. Her outdoor swing, big enough to hold four and with a large umbrella to keep off the sun, is their magic swing, where Nana takes Graham on imaginary trips around the world with the help of an old map.
When Nana dies, Graham is left facing many new feelings and events. The story walks him through some very intense con- cepts. Nana’s funeral is described in detail with lots of attention to Graham’s feelings at certain points. The graveyard and the burial are described and Graham’s worry that Nana won’t be able to breathe is addressed by an ex- planation that she no longer needs to breathe.
Graham continues to remember Nana by going to her house and sitting on the empty swing. When his younger siblings join him one day, Graham takes on the role of storyteller and models Nana’s stories. This triggers happy memories for Graham and his feelings of sorrow slowly change to warm happiness as thoughts about the love he and Nana shared take hold.
At the end of the book, the author provides tips to help teachers and caregivers explain death to the very young or those children facing death for the first time.
This book is a very useful resource, especially because it is hard to find materials written at this early year’s level. It will help teachers and caregivers start the discussion about death and grief with young children who are experiencing this. The concepts are difficult, but explained in a simple way through storytelling. There are many concepts de- scribed in this book and teachers and caregivers may find that they can only deal with one item at a time, so this book may have to be read several times to cover all the ideas it depicts. Some of the concepts and descriptions of the burial rites may not apply to all cultures, although the experiences of death and grief are universal.
Thematic Links: Love; Death; Grief; Funerals; Burial; Graveyard
Elizabeth Brown
Connecting Classrooms, Libraries and Canadian Learning Resources
Janet Shindle is a retired social worker who has worked extensively with children and adults who have struggled with loss. This story is based on her own son’s reaction to the passing of the author’s grandmother.
This is the story of the love between four year old Graham and his great grandmother Nana. Nana’s home is full of love. Her outdoor swing, big enough to hold four and with a large umbrella to keep off the sun, is their magic swing, where Nana takes Graham on imaginary trips around the world with the help of an old map.
When Nana dies, Graham is left facing many new feelings and events. The story walks him through some very intense con- cepts. Nana’s funeral is described in detail with lots of attention to Graham’s feelings at certain points. The graveyard and the burial are described and Graham’s worry that Nana won’t be able to breathe is addressed by an ex- planation that she no longer needs to breathe.
Graham continues to remember Nana by going to her house and sitting on the empty swing. When his younger siblings join him one day, Graham takes on the role of storyteller and models Nana’s stories. This triggers happy memories for Graham and his feelings of sorrow slowly change to warm happiness as thoughts about the love he and Nana shared take hold.
At the end of the book, the author provides tips to help teachers and caregivers explain death to the very young or those children facing death for the first time.
This book is a very useful resource, especially because it is hard to find materials written at this early year’s level. It will help teachers and caregivers start the discussion about death and grief with young children who are experiencing this. The concepts are difficult, but explained in a simple way through storytelling. There are many concepts de- scribed in this book and teachers and caregivers may find that they can only deal with one item at a time, so this book may have to be read several times to cover all the ideas it depicts. Some of the concepts and descriptions of the burial rites may not apply to all cultures, although the experiences of death and grief are universal.
Thematic Links: Love; Death; Grief; Funerals; Burial; Graveyard
Elizabeth Brown
