Review of A Stopwatch from Grandpa by Loretta Garbutt

"When summer started, I got Grampa's stopwatch," a small child says. "I don't want his stopwatch. I want him." Grampa used to time everything. A race to the end of the street and back: 24 seconds. Eating bubblegum ice cream: 1 minute, 58 seconds. But now, Grampa's gone. "There are no more Grampa minutes, Grampa seconds," the child says. "Time just stops." As the seasons come and go, the stopwatch becomes a cherished symbol of remembrance, and the child uses it to carry on Grampa's favorite pastimes and traditions.

Loretta Garbutt uses subtlety and sensitivity to explore the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) in this moving picture book story of loss. It features a gender-neutral main character (no first name or pronouns are given) making the story universally relatable. This is a perfect choice for fostering discussions with children about their emotions, particularly the feeling of loss. It also offers a poignant representation of an intergenerational relationship between a grandfather and grandchild. Carmen Mok's expressive and thoughtful illustrations employ a limited color palette to convey the character's emotional trajectory. There are curriculum applications here in social-emotional development as well as character education lessons in caring and resilience.

Book Links

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**My thoughts**
It's a heartbreaking story as the young boy is trying to deal with the loss of his beloved grandfather. The opening lines actually cut me to the core, because I feel this so much: "When summer started, I got Grampa's stopwatch. I don't want his stopwatch. I want him." And I flashed back to losing my own grandparents as a child.

The stopwatch represents all of the fun that he had with his grandfather, because it was Grampa's favorite thing. They timed each other doing all kinds of things. And life just does not feel right. And he is angry. And then eventually, he is able to come back around and find the joy in the stopwatch again.

All of these feelings are completely normal to have. When you think about how hard it is for us as adults to process these feelings, imagine how much more difficult it is for a young child. Perhaps this book could help a child trying to deal with a loss or at least provide a foundation for some conversations.

4.5*s from me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.