Presents metaphors and coping strategies that a young child can understand.

A finely developed tool to assist children and families in understanding and accepting the erosions of Alzheimer’s disease in a beloved, familiar, mature mind and psyche.

Danielle Simard has written a moving and sensitive story about a girl trying to make sense of her grandmother’s memory loss. Such beautiful and inspiring text with a loving and satisfying ending.

Audiences of all ages can connect to the characters’ journey to accept and understand their “new normal” through the beautiful drawings and narrative of their interactions at home and outside in nature. The topic of a loved one’s memory loss is presented in a sensitive, child-friendly context of caring family relationships. The author provides us with plenty of optimism to continue Elise’s quest with a spirit of adventure: “…I will have to find out where her words are hiding. I could catch them all with a big net…”

Danielle Simard has eloquently captured the whimsy of a child testing and considering a variety of answers to a puzzle. Gently told and beautifully illustrated and with an ending that is both believable and reassuring, The Little Word Catcher will offer a way to open conversations about Alzheimer's in a supportive manner...for families as yet untouched by the illness, this book can be a lovely bedtime story about the special relationship between a young girl and her grandmother. For families struggling with the changes that Alzheimer's brings about in families, The Little Word Catcher will be a gift...Highly Recommended.

This is an excellent book for Primary and Junior classrooms. It might also work well as a resource for a response journal for Intermediate students. The subject matter is handled with a sensitivity and depth that will likely promote further discussion among children and their teachers or parents.