The Forgettery by Rachel Ip, illustrated by Laura Hughes, is a magical adventure that touches sensitively on the experience of memory loss. You can read it with your EYFS and KS1 classes before using these resources to explore what we remember and why we forget.
By taking part in the activities, children will:
- Enjoy a shared reading for pleasure experience
- Use the ideas in the book as a prompt for further explorations
- Look at text and pictures to extend their understanding
- Explore the nature of memories and remembering
- Explore the nature of forgetting
- Consider the emotional impact of forgetting and of recalling memories
- Derive ways to prompt remembering and not forgetting things
- Start to understand the idea of memory loss caused by dementia in old age
About The Forgettery:
Amelia’s granny forgets lots of things. Little things, like where she put her glasses, and big things like people and places. But everything anyone has ever forgotten is stored in The Forgettery, and there Amelia and her granny learn the power of making memories.
Filled with warmth and gentle humour, The Forgettery is a beautifully written, sensitive look at dementia and memory loss. Over 850,000 people live with dementia in the UK, which will soar to 2 million by 2051. Globally, around 50 million people live with dementia, with nearly 10 million new cases each year. Opening up discussions surrounding this challenging topic with little ones has never been more important.
Without ever explicitly mentioning dementia, The Forgettery can be enjoyed as an adventure story where children explore a fantastical world where memories can be re-discovered and revisited as well as newly made. Rachel Ip’s tender words capture the wonderful bond between grandmother and granddaughter and Laura Hughes conjures up an exciting, wonderous space where our most precious memories are stored, and the challenge of dementia can be gently explored and understood.
