The Remembering Stone

How many of you out there have grabbed a child’s jacket and wondered why is was so incredibly heavy only to search the pockets and find a treasure trove of stones? Just me? I would expect not! Carey Sookocheff’s newest picture book, The Remembering Stone, is all about a special rock hidden in a pocket that helps a young child connect with a love one.

Alice brings a special smooth flat rock to school for Show and Share. It’s a stone that reminds her of her grandpa who died and would take her skipping stones at the lake. Unfortunately, over the course of the day the stone goes missing. Her friends and classmates help her look for it but to no avail. Luckily she figures out a new way of remembering grandpa.

Carey Sookocheff has taken an ordinary object that so many children love to explore and collect to help reflect on a loved one. It’s something so many readers will understand and personally connect with. I love that she takes it a step further and moves from the object being the items of remembering and shows readers that even in our favourite outings and actions we can remember our loved ones, even if those precious items get lost, the memories will remain. It’s important to note that when author’s are explicit, when they use the words died or dead, and don’t rely on using euphemisms, it helps readers to gain understanding of life and not get confused.

I also especially appreciated how Alice’s classmates rallied around her when she lost her rock to help her find it. In doing so they provided Alice with a whole new collection of memories and a way to continue to remember.

Carey Sookocheff’s illustrations are perfectly perfect. Using hues reminiscent of the rocks that make up the foundation of the story, readers will easily connect and see themselves in the pages of the story. Two page spreads and little vignettes will inspire rock remembrances among the readers.