By Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
I picked up a terrific looking teen thriller the other day by Sylvia McNicoll called crush. candy. corpse. about a girl who is forced to serve forty hours of volunteer time on an Alzheimer’s ward. Some time later, she’s on trial for manslaughter.
When I read McNicoll’s dedication to her mother who died of Alzheimer’s, it was like being hit in the gut. Speak of hands on research.
But it also got me to thinking about the two seniors in my family and their struggles with memory. My widowed mother is 78 and has been dealing with short-term memory loss for six years now. I cherish each day that she is still lucid. One of her biggest pleasures is reading. Almost daily, she says, “What would I do if I could no longer enjoy my books?”
My ninety-year-old father-in-law (affectionately known as Tusio) lost his wife four years ago. He had never been a big reader. As a post-World War II immigrant, he packed as much work as he could into a twenty-four hour day, fearful of hunger, fearful of losing his freedom once again. He was a family doctor – the kind that made house calls. He retired at seventy-eight by having a heart attack.
You might be wondering what these two beloved seniors are doing in a column on children’s books, so I’ll tell you. Both have found salvation in children’s books.
My mother used to read big fat historicals like Sarum and Russka by Edward Rutherfurd, Pillars of the Earth and other novels by Ken Follett. Her shelves are stuffed with the likes of Irving Stone, Herman Wouk, Taylor Caldwell and Diana Gabaldon. But now she finds the stories hard to follow. She still buys all the newest fat historicals though. She says they keep her warm.
But because I write for kids, she’s read all of my books (and of course she says I’m the best “authoress” in the world). I began bringing her books written by my colleagues. She enjoyed those too. I noticed a pattern. When she read one of her standby fat historicals, she couldn’t tell me what the story was about, but That Boy Red by Rachna Gilmore? She loved it. Read it again and again. I brought her Crossing to Freedom by Virginia Frances Schwartz – another hit. Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis brought her to alternating fits of tears and laughter. Valerie Sherrard’s Tumbleweed Skies was another one she loved, so I brought an armload of Sherrards.
Why children’s novels, you might ask. Well for one thing, less profanity, less sex, more uplifting endings. Many children’s novels are written with a linear story that is easier to follow. Of particular interest are historical novels set in the twentieth century. For seniors, these are contemporary stories.
My mother has less interest in novels set now, nor is she interested in science fiction or fantasy, but she does enjoy good adventure novels like Anita Daher’s Flight From Big Tangle and Poachers in the Pingos. She particularly loves novels about dogs, her favourite being Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee.
My father-in-law was a harder nut to crack. With the loss of his wife, he suddenly had a lot of time on his hands. We have him over for dinner once a week and he would scan my bookshelves, gravitating towards my huge reference collection of scholarly works and memoirs set during World War I and World War II.
I encouraged him to take home whichever books he wanted, but I wasn’t convinced that reading about war and genocide was the best thing for a fresh widower – especially not one who was himself a survivor of war and genocide.
The books gave him nightmares, but he kept wanting more. I tried to get him to read novels, but he said he’d rather read “something true.”
I took Tusio to the Brantford Public Library and had him set up with his own library card, then I set up an online account for him so I could select his books.
I gradually got him to read biographies, memoirs and other non-fiction, steering him away from the dryer depressing stuff. He devoured Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle, John Vaillant’s The Tiger, and The Devil and The White City by Erik Larson. One he couldn’t stop talking about was Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken.
But he was still having nightmares.
I had tried in the past to get him to read children’s novels, but he said he didn’t want to because they weren’t true. Besides, he wasn’t a kid.
The turning point came when I gave him Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet. I told him it was based on the author’s own life, surviving in the wilderness. Tusio ate this classic adventure story up in a single sitting. “Are there any more of those Hatchet books?” he asked when he was next over for dinner.
One by one, I selected a different Paulsen from the library. Some of Gary Paulsen’s books are boy adventure stories spun off from Hatchet, called the Brian Saga. Others are more gentle, like The Quilt based on Paulsen’s early childhood, while living with his grandmother. All have the ring of truth and Tusio read them all with great relish. For Christmas, I bought him eight or so of the older Paulsen novels that are no longer circulating in the library. Paulsen has more than 200, so I know what presents I’ll be buying for awhile.
In addition to Paulsen, Tusio loves the same children’s novels that Mom does. I’m hoping they will swap back and forth, but they do seem to like their own books around them for warmth.
If you have a beloved senior whose mind you’d like to engage with reading, here are some tips:
- Choose “middle grade” or novels for under age fifteen because these novels tend to have a more linear structure than young adult novels (i.e. sixteen and older) and they have minimal sex and profanity.
- Choose “historical” but if your potential reader is a survivor of war or genocide, avoid novels set during those eras.
- Avoid graphic novels. As Tusio says, “I like words.”
- Consider illustrated chapter books. These are books for children who are transitioning away from picture books but are still struggling with independent reading. The stories can be meaty and the illustrations are more traditional, so won’t jar a senior reader.
- For a person with severe memory issues, consider classic picture books.
In addition to the books and authors cited above, here are others to try:
- Scholastic’s Dear Canada novels, which are historically accurate girl stories and set during various times of Canadian history. They’re written in diary format and are uniformly well written.
- Scholastic’s I Am Canada novels, which are the boy equivalent to the Dear Canada novels.
- A caveat – many of the above series novels are set during wartime, so choose your subjects with care.
- Historicals by Karleen Bradford, Barbara Haworth Attard, Jacqueline Guest, Kit Pearson, Jean Little, Margaret Buffie, Arthur Slade and Janet McNaughton. Some of these authors write other genres as well, so stick to their historicals for your senior readers.
16 Comments
Kind of you to mention my novels, Marsha. Thanks!
I’d say I probably reached more older people than younger people with my middle grade book, The Kulak’s Daughter. Just last week I sent my 86 year old aunt another YA – written in German – her first language. I’m devouring the German YA, too. Easier for me. But you’re right, for people that went through the horrors, it is a challenge to find the right books. My husband has memory issues, too (from a brain injury) – I never thought of trying YA for him – but this article has sparked the idea.
My mom became quite childlike in her later eighties and early nineties. I’d read parts of books to her. Thanks Marsha for reinforcing this powerful connection – elders and youth.
Great idea, Gabriele. The nice thing about middle grade novels is that the authors tend not to include the parts readers skip over, making them easier reads, but still very meaningful.
Thank you so much for this wonderful suggestion! I can hardly wait to bring home some new novels for my dear mother in law who is struggling so much with memory issues–but never forgets how much she loves to read!
As a first-time children’s book author, it seemed incongrous to me that my first presentation for Torn Apart, the latest volume in Scholastic’s Dear Canada series, took place at my 87-year-old mother’s local senior centre. Even though its subject, the internment of Japanese Canadians in WWII, was not a pleasant one, its setting and everyday details such as rationing, blackout, and war work done by children in schools was very familiar to my audience. They just loved my reading! The fact that parts of the story were based on my mother’s own experiences touched people who know my mother now. And I sold 40 books! Many were for grandchildren but almost as many were for the seniors themselves who have since read the book and told me how much they enjoyed it.
Marsha is absolutely right that this is a whole new audience for historical children’s books. Great article!
Susan, I would think other senior centres would also enjoy a talk by you. For example, people who lived through WWII but had an entirely different experience. What a great way to build bridges and tolerance.
I would love to do presentations _with_ you — me talking about my Dear Canada set during the WWI internment of Ukrainian Canadians and you talking about the WWII internment of Japanese Canadians. If the first had not been shoved under the carpet maybe the second wouldn’t have happened.
I agree– this is a wonderful idea. The story-lines and characters in these middle-grade books may be simpler and easier to follow, but the stories themselves have a lot of meat and historical/cultural as well as human interest, and may help seniors connect with their own roots. (My novel “Feast of Lights” recreates Jewish immigration to Toronto in the early 1900’s, as well as having a present-day family story). And families — including grandparents — are often an important element of the story, which is meaningful to older people. Well done, Marsha! And what a nice relationship with both your mother and your father-in-law. This idea could be helpful in seniors’ residences, too — perhaps for people who want to be in a book group.
Your novels sound perfect for seniors as well, Ellen! The links between generations is oh so important!
Your article makes a lot of sense, Marsha. At your launch a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t help but notice that the audience was made up of seniors who clearly had read and loved your books. The points you make in your column are valid reasons why seniors are a perfect market for YA and children’s books.
Shelly,
Isn’t it interesting that what’s marketed for kids is probably read by as many adults as children? I would much rather read a well-crafted and meaty children’s novel than a mass market paperback for adults.
This is a terrific article, Marsha. A lot of seniors (and their loved ones) are going to be very grateful you gave them this idea and these tips. You sound like a lovely daughter/daughter-in-law.
McNicoll’s book – crush.candy.corpse – also sounds intriguing. Will you tell us a bit more about it?
Gisela,
crush.candy.corpse is an absorbing court room drama for teens and it deals with a lot of serious issues like passive euthanasia and stereotypes — of teens and seniors alike. Sylvia did a great job of creating sympathetic and unique seniors — not caricatures, but individuals. The novel is written with sensitivity and intelligence, but is also an unputdownable read!
What a wonderful idea, Marsha. My mother, in the last years of her life, liked to read stories about, as she called them, “the early days.” A favorite was Robert Collins “Butter Down the Well.” She read it over and over, never remembering that she had read it many times before, and saying each time that it was “really enjoyable.” I myself enjoy many books written for young readers, and only wish I had thought to pass them on to my mother. I think “right” and “wrong” is a little clearer in books for young people, and that, while they are certainly no easier to write, this may make them easier to read for people who have trouble concentrating or picking up on clues that are overly subtle.
Merna,
So much of what we consider classic fiction would be called middle grade fiction if published today. It is wonderful that your mother got such comfort from her favourite book. Must look up Butter Down The Well!!
For the book launch of crush.candy.corpse , I handed out invitations at our local seniors centre. The subject matter may not seem appropriate, assisting senior suicide, but these people love a good debate over ideals. They want choices and I know most of them are familiar with and love our local book store A Different Drummer, where the event is taking place.
Your respect for seniors shows in this novel, Sylvia. Well done!