A STORY TO PLAY FORWARD -FOR MY MOTHER

As I start 2010, I have some unfinished business. I need to start a new blog that is strictly for that purpose. It will be called FINDING DIAMONDS....the name of a talk I've given to libraries and those involved with elder care. The "diamonds" are books....books that are adult, YA, and picture books that can be introduced, shared, and eventually read to those who find themseles needing to move from the longer, thicker books in the adult section of the bookstores and libraries. The reason for this may be poor vision, illness, loss of memory and/or shorter attention span.
My mother always read to me as well as to the neighbor children. She did not have a degree and did not have friends that shared her love of books. But she knew I needed it, and also invited the neighbor's children in to listen at story time. When she moved down here in her 80's there was a little boy at the screen door the night before we moved her waiting to be read to.

When she was 94 we began to notice some changes in her own reading skills. While she stayed highly active on the social scene, she was no longer finishing the novels she started...stating that she "just couldn't get into the book". Or she would realize part way through that she had already read that title not long ago (I already can do that, myself). She became bored more easily, and complained that books jumped around forwards and backwards and were harder to keep track of.
I slowly realized her books were too long and filled with too many threads to follow. She needed books to sweep her away but that were shorter and written in a straightforward manner. I also realized as I gave her some of my YA books to read that she was not familiar with YA books. And because I was a picture book writer and illustrator, she was open to me sharing wonderful picture books with her.

It was time to give my mother back the gift of reading that she had given me. I will talk more in depth about this but, to make a long story short we read my mother backwards. I picked books that reflected her life, her interests, or the life I had lived. I gave her TISHA, the story of a young teacher who moved to Canada to teach in a rural area. I brought her OUT OF THE DUST because she was a child of the Great Depression, had roots in the midwest and grew up on a farm. She read BEYOND THE MANGO TREE because she was diabetic, and I read short stories from THE FEATHER MERCHANTS because she had a wicked sense of humour. As she was reading these books on her own, I found picture books that reflected some of the things we had talked about, THE PAINTER WHO LOVED CHICKENS, NIM AND THE WAR EFFORT, MAILING MAY. She was open and willing to having books shared with her.

When she wasd 96 she was diagnosed with cancer. She only lived a week after that but during that week as she slipped in and out of sleep I re-read books to her that she was familiar with. It eased my fear and discomfort and she would smile occasionally and nod, and I would like to think that the familiar voice and words were soothing to her time of transition.

In order to read my mother backwards, I needed to find diamonds...books that read straightforwardly, with a limited amount of threads and characters to keep track of, books that fit her interests, background and passion. The benefits were a renewed interest in story, a diversion from some of the pain and boredom that often come with illness and aging, and often a trigger for memory and reminiscence.

I talked to Jim Trelease whose contributions to reading children forward is amazing, and he said it was a topic that has yet to be addressed. So here it is. And here is what I want from those of you who are interested. I would like to add to my list of books. I would like some examples of the types of people you think these would appeal to. When I get this blogging thing down better, I will begin posting my collected list that has been added to by librarians and friends.

My dream is a database of books well silently as well as aloud, a place we can type in the characteristics and interests of those we are close to, and up will come books that are just right for them. I feel that those who would benefit from this effort are hospice workers, nursing homes, family caretakers and companions, adult literacy programs and families moving from literacy to literature.

Let me know if you are interested. I want this in place when I need it.