Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost

Honor Book of the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award--for an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States

Ages 7 And Up, Grades 1 And Up

A beautiful, candid picture book for children to understand what happens when a loved one begins suffering from dementia, and how best to care for them.

Stump always has a fantastic time with his grandparents, filled with flowers, puzzles, crosswords, and endless love. But one day, Stump's grandfather starts to lose his memory—and his words, which literally fall from him. Stump tries his best to keep the lost words safe, collecting them in a special box. But Grandpa seems to forget more and more everyday, and the situation comes to a head one snowy night when Stump wakes up to find Grandpa missing. Together, Stump and Grandma must find new ways to connect with Grandpa, and show him that he's not alone. This poignant, tender picture book depicts the struggle of coping with a loved one's dementia with honesty and sensitivity, with a message of hope that affirms the deep bonds of love between grandchild and grandparent. This book includes an afterword to the adult reader about dementia and recollection, written by Ove Dahl, a historian and head of the Danish Center for Reminiscence. He provides some practical tips, as illustrated in the story with Stump, for establishing a meaningful way of being together when caring for a relative with dementia.

About the Author

When Betina Birkjær was young, she wanted to be a writer and travel the world with a French circus. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in dramaturgy from Aarhus University and training in performing arts at the School of Stage Arts with Cantabile 2 in Vordingborg, she now works as a performer, author, and installation artist. Her dream is to write more, dream more, and continue to make poetic works for children and adults.Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard was born in Aarhaus, Denmark in 1972. She graduated from the Danish School of Design's illustration program in 2002 and studied at Akademia Sztuk Pieknich in Kraków, Poland. She has received a number of working grants and awards from the Danish Arts Foundation, including the Illustration Award 2015, and was nominated for the 2020 Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize for her illustration of Out of the Blue. She currently works and lives with her family in Bornholm, an island in the Baltic Sea.