I found this book to be very touching, through the use of the repetitive language and flashbacks. Miss Olivia Wiggins lives at a nursing home, but her daughter and great grandson have come to visit. Miss Olivia has Alzheimer’s and can barely speak or share her thoughts anymore, but the author expresses that Miss Olivia still has a lot going through her mind and a lot to give. The author does this by using repetitive language throughout the story, as she expresses that Miss Olivia is “staring at nothing and at everything all at the same time.” Although Miss Olivia Wiggins now has Alzheimer’s and doesn’t speak, she was once a young woman who had plenty to say. This is seen through her many flashbacks of her back in the day. One of her flashbacks showed Miss Olivia spending her Sunday’s in the spring with Ned and her feelings of knowing she would marry him one day. These flashbacks allow the reader to see Miss Olivia in a way that they cannot see her with Alzheimer’s now. Both the repetitive language and the flashbacks help the reader to see who Miss Olivia really is beyond her disease. Overall, I think the big idea is to understand that there is a lot more to every ill individual than his or her disease. By understanding, one can be compassionate to who the individual really is and what they have experienced in their life. ( )

This book is TERRIBLE!! I cried through the whole thing!! I hate to cry!! This book is WELL written and BEAUTIFUL!! This book is a look into the life of an Alzheimer's grandparent. The visits, the silence, the heart ache of watching your elderly with their blank looks but how we need to visit anyway. Momma Olivia's memories are trapped in her thoughts but she cannot vocalize, shes trapped by Alzheimer's. The illustrations are perfect the book is also a reminder if the rich heritage that our grandparents cherish and hold. HUG your grandparent TODAY!!! I would read this book to kids on grandparents day, in relation to a trip to a nursing home, or around the holidays, or projects about family history. The emotion is STRONG but the reality is true!! Its a hard subject to understand but the story reads simply so kids of any age can understand at least part of it. Grades ANY ( )

This book allows children to make a connection with a grandparent. It will allow them to recall memories of their own lives. This book also shows how one simple object can help recall a previous experience. This book makes me think about all of the different experiences I have had with my grandparents.

This book is a very heart warming story. I think that people of all ages would love this book!

This book made me sad even though the boy and his grandma go to visit his great grandmother, she does interact with them because she is really old.