My Grandma Is a Superhero - by Marloes Van Loon (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"Love motivates acceptance and assistance in this warm, direct, and interactive story." - Kirkus Reviews

Suzy and Granny have the most exciting adventures and play together non-stop...their favorite is acting like superheroes! But lately, Granny forgets more and more things and is often confused--she even forgot Suzy's name once. Granny says she is losing her memory...That can't be! Where did she put it? As a determined Suzy goes on an unsuccessful quest to find Granny's memory, she realizes that their love will never change, and Granny will always be a superhero in her eyes...

A gentle story that helps children understand what happens when a grandparent has Alzheimer's disease and cope with their confusion and fading memory. For everyone ages 4 years and up.

Review Quotes

"As Granny's memory slips away, will Suzy lose their special relationship? Suzy and Granny--both light-skinned--have had marvelous times together, pretending to be astronauts, riding toy horses, and, most of all, playing superhero. But Granny is becoming increasingly forgetful; once she even calls Suzy "Lily." When Granny explains what memory is, Suzy secretly tries to find it before taking a different approach: When Granny doesn't know where her glasses are, Suzy--and readers--will help find them (a challenge, as they are thin wire frames located on a page with many other objects). When Granny isn't sure of the way home, Suzy and readers can trace it through a maze from store to house. Putting away the groceries is another task that Suzy and readers must complete--by following long, winding lines connecting items such as carrots and toilet paper with their destinations. But Suzy's guiding principle is clear: "Now it's my turn to be just as sweet to Granny as she has always been to me." Suzy will become Granny's "sweet superhero helper." This is a tender and original take on coping with memory loss; spotting a cute black cat on every spread adds to readers' engagement. Many objects are simply outlined in black, with no color filled in. Varied-width black lines and touches of a darker red punctuate the pastels in the delicate but uncrowded illustrations. Love motivates acceptance and assistance in this warm, direct, and interactive story." - Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Marloes van Loon (Bergeijk, 1993) graduated from Maastricht Academy of Media Design and Technology in 2016. She studied Visual Communication and majored in illustrations. At the Academy, she made all sorts of different animations and illustrations but her biggest dream was to one day get her own picture book published. Marloes loves working with and for children. Sooner than she expected her dream came true: she entered her final project at school for the Key Colours competition, and her book My Grandma Is a Superhero was nominated. In the summer of 2017 it was published by Clavis Publishing. Marloes lives in Utrecht and works fulltime as a freelance illustrator. She also regularly gives workshops at secondary schools to pass on her love for drawing to children.