Children's Books About Alzheimer's

Talking about illnesses through children's literature will help little ones understand concepts in a faster and easier way.

Alzheimer’s is one of the most commonly diagnosed diseases today. So it’s very important for children to know what happens when a family member suffers from it. Here you’ll find a selection of children’s books about Alzheimer’s that will help them understand it better. These books will also promote important values, such as affection and empathy.

As you’ll see next, grandparents are the main characters in most of the stories about Alzheimer’s. This is because the average age of people who suffer from this disease is 80 years old.

Children’s books about Alzheimer’s

Elmer and Grandpa Eldo

Elmer is one of the most popular characters in children’s books. This collection of books has sold 8 million copies due to the values promoted by the elephant Elmer, its main character.

In this edition, youngsters get to know Eldo, Elmer’s grandfather. Elmer visits Eldo to remember the great adventures they lived together. However, Eldo doesn’t remember the stories any more… What’s going on with grandpa? This is an ideal book for children over four years old, which will help them understand Alzheimer’s better.

La abuela durmiente (Sleeping Granny)

This book was published by Kalandraka, one of the best Spanish publishers of children’s literature. The story is full of affection, love and sensitivity. In this case, the story is about a boy’s grandmother, who before sleeping all the time and doing strange things, used to be very funny.

This is an illustrated book that shows us, from a child’s perspective, the process of watching his grandmother’s illness progress, followed by her death.

In addition to dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and explaining what happens during the different stages, it’s a very nice book to talk about the loss of a loved one with children.

Grandpa Monty’s Muddles

This book shows how Alzheimer’s begins with little distractions, which become more serious over time. These distractions will be the main characters of the story, and readers will end up loving grandpa Monty and his naughty grandson.

This is an ideal book to talk about this disease in a real, yet humorous way, by introducing grandpa’s muddles and the grandson’s creativity. Full of values such as empathy, sensitivity and affection, it’s a magnificent story for children over seven years old.

More children’s books about Alzheimer’s

What’s Wrong With Grandpa?

Making this disease visible among children is essential for them to become aware of the situation and understand what happens. What’s Wrong With Grandpa? has been created by a neurologist from ACE Foundation, from the Catalan Institute of Neurosciences.

This story has the shape of a comic book to attract children’s attention. It’s aimed at children over 10 years old, and by reading it, they’ll be able to discover and learn everything about Alzheimer’s.

The Confusions of Matias

It’s a fantastic book for children over 8 years old, full of wonderful illustrations so children can use their imagination.

Matias and his grandmother are the main characters, and they’re both quite distracted. Thus, Matias forgets a lot of things, such as where he left a diving book, which his friend Enrique lent him.

His grandmother forgets things, too, because she suffers from Alzheimer’s. On one occasion, Matias gets ill and he thinks it’s because there’s no more room in his head for anything else. Therefore, the same thing happens to his grandma.

Hilos de Colores (Colored Threads), a book on Alzheimer’s with a different touch

Finally, we’ve chosen a different illustrated poetry book. It’s full of affection and sensitivity, which will appeal to readers of all ages. The main character is a grandmother who, knowing what’s happening to her, decides to tell her own story.

In the story, she includes all her experiences and emotions. In spite of the passing of time, this book shows that some memories live on forever.