Granny Left Me a Rocket Ship by Heather Smith, Illustrated by Ashley Barron

Image | Granny Left Me a Rocket Ship by Heather Smith, illustrated by Ashley Barron

Caption: (Kids Can Press)

When Granny dies, a young child and their family have a hole in their hearts. They find it helps them fill it to remember her through the things she left behind. To the father, she left a tuba, and to the mother, a locket. To the sister, she left a microscope, and to the brother, a record collection. To the main character, though, Granny left something different: a world of adventure, that they visit with their memories. Through imaginative play with items that belonged to Granny, the child travels near and far. And Granny is right beside them, along for the ride.

Using spare prose, award-winning author Heather Smith's beautiful story about loss, grief and memories presents an honest yet optimistic view of how to joyfully remember loved ones after they're gone. Ashley Barron's layered cut-paper collage illustrations bring fun to the story, while colorfully capturing the feel of a child's imagination in flight. This book provides a gentle, thoughtful entryway into a conversation with children – or adults – about losing a loved one, and how to hold them close. It's a wonderful resource for focusing on social-emotional learning, and an excellent representation for a character education lesson on resilience. (From Kids Can Press).
Heather is an award-winning children's author originally from Newfoundland. She won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award in 2019 for her YA novel in verse Ebb & Flow.
Ashley Barron is a multimedia artist and children's book illustrator. She currently lives in Toronto.