When Grandpa Forgets: A New Children’s Book Helps Parents Find the Words

(ORLANDO, FL)  — The hardest parenting questions rarely show up at a convenient time. They arrive in the car after a visit, during bedtime, or while you’re trying to make dinner—when your child suddenly asks, “Why doesn’t Grandpa remember me?”

For parents, that moment can feel like a tightrope: you want to be honest, but not frightening; reassuring, but not dismissive. The Memory Box & Charlotte’s Big Surprise was written for exactly that moment. It’s a children’s book created not just to tell a story, but to support a conversation—one families can return to gently as children’s questions and feelings evolve.

“Remembering may change, but love can still be real and present.”

The book follows Charlotte, a five-year-old who adores her grandfather—especially the small rituals that make her feel safe and loved. When Charlotte discovers that Grandpa can no longer remember her name, she feels the confusion and hurt many children experience when something changes in someone they love. With guidance from trusted adults, Charlotte learns a simple truth that helps children feel steady: remembering may change, but love remains.

A distinctive element of the book is that it uses the term Alzheimer’s disease—introduced briefly and carefully in child-appropriate language—so families who want to name what’s happening can do so without turning the moment into something clinical or overwhelming. The story quickly returns to what children need most: reassurance, connection, and a sense that they are not to blame.

At the heart of the book is the idea of a Memory Box—a child-centered way to hold onto connection through photos, stories, and familiar moments. It’s a gentle activity families can

Author Homer L. Hartage, a Florida-based professional guardian and longtime advocate for families navigating memory-related conditions, wrote the book after years of seeing how often children are present in these moments—and how often parents are left alone trying to “say it right.”

The Memory Box & Charlotte’s Big Surprise will be available in hardcover and paperback beginning June 5, 2026.

Hartage is also the author of Family & Professional Guardianship, and his forthcoming trade book Parentification: Caregivers in Crises, which explores the hidden burden carried by children who assume adult responsibilities in families under stress.