A Stopwatch from Grampa

He savored every minute with Grampa. They were the closest of companions, and the little boy still knows exactly how long it took Grampa to eat three oatmeal raisin cookies — a mere five minutes. He knows how long it took the creepy caterpillar to crawl up his leg while he and Grampa sat in the park. Together, they timed everything. It was their fascination, their joy. The young boy finds himself alone with Grampa’s stopwatch resting gently in his hands. Without Grampa, it’s meaningless to him. He shoves it in a drawer away from sight until one day he finds it underneath a sweater and decides it’s time to try to beat Grampa’s cookie eating time.

A Stopwatch from Grampa is a magnificent story that captures a young boy’s enduring love for his grandfather and the immense loss he feels when he passes. At first he is angry, as many are when experiencing tragedy in their lives. Then he moves to indifference and finally on to acceptance, a place in which he is ready to create new memories and reclaim the old. His experience, though portrayed as fiction, appears vividly real. With its subtle but strikingly alluring illustrations, this picture book is ideal for children ages 5-9. Though the topic can be a difficult one to breach with youngsters, this story will likely make it easier and serve as a springboard for fruitful discussion as well as restorative healing for those experiencing similar losses.