Such a sweet loving book! I know this deminia issue well with my family. As an adult I have often worried very much of how it would effect my grandmother and now my mother and maybe even myself one day. It can be a scary thing for people. I love how the author showed this topic and how it was spun in the story.

This is a wonderful story to read with children whose grandparents are being to develop Alzheimer’s disease. The story is told from a 9-year old’s perspective of what it is like to suddenly lose a grandparent to Alzheimer’s. It describes the disease and the effect it has on both the adult and the child, and how it can alter that relationship. Even better, it also describes how parts of the relationship will always remain the same which is where the title comes from. The title, however, is a bit too deep and difficult to place with the story. However, that is my only critique with this story.
This is a beautifully illustrated book with what looks like a sophisticated child’s drawings on how the story is told.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy to read. All opinions are my own.

Max loves his grandfather and spending time with him, but his grandfather is now in a nursing home and has Alzheimer's. Will he still remember Max? The illustrations are cute but don't do the story justice. The book, although aimed at young children, is quite serious and sad, but with beautiful poetic writing. I will have to see a final copy to determine if I will purchase for my library.

A charming tale of 9-year-old Max's devotion to his grandfather who is in the beginning stages of dementia. As they steal away to spend a day together in their favorite meadow, the love Max and his grandfather feel for one another shines throughout the narrative. When Max worries what will happen if his grandfather forgets that love, his grandfather's responds with an analogy about the moon. Even during the times that we cannot visibly see the moon, we know that it is there. Likewise, Max can always be assured of his grandfather's love, knowing that it will always there.

I received an e-book of If My Moon Was Your Sun book from NetGalley. Unfortunately, it did not come with the CD Audiobook and Music. I was able to listen to the music via YouTube, but I would have preferred to have been able to listen to the audiobook without the stops and starts involved with switching between my Kindle and YouTube. Nevertheless, I still found this to be an endearing tale with its beautiful illustrations. I highly recommend this book.

A poignant story about a boy's love for this grandfather and his struggle to grapple with the reality that he's losing his memories to Alzheimer's.

In an attempt to "free" the grandfather from the nursing home in which he's confined, the boy arranges an escape. The two spend a day together, along with a whimsical elderly woman who tags along and adds vivacity and spontaneity to the day.

A very sweet and sobering read. Highly recommended.

I loved this book. Very sweet story! It’s a beautiful tale of love between grandfather and grandchildren. The illustrations are very sweet too, really beautiful and fitted perfectly with the story.
This was an amazing children's book. Highly recommended.

I received this book from NetGalley

:D This was so cute! I wish that be in spanish so I can read it to my nieces

If My Moon Was Your Sun by Andreas Steinhofel is a beautifully written book for children. In this story, young Max kidnaps his grandfather and takes him on a bus ride to their favorite meadow, with a backpack of kids' snacks. This sweet tale is wonderful for children that have loved ones with dementia. The grandfather had moments of clarify and moments of forgetfulness that loved ones would relate to. I intended to read this book along with my six year old son, but I did not think he could handle it at this point. I agree with the book's description that it is best for ages eight and up. Overall, I loved this book and highly recommend it. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

A massive feel good story about a very serious and sad aspect of growing old.
Max has adjusted to his Grandfather losing his independence and going into a home. He misses special times and knows his Grandfather is suffering from getting older and forgetting things. He loves him so much he can’t bear the thought of his Grandfather not remembering how much he loves him.
One day on a casual visit Max breaks out to take them to a special place in his Grandfather’s past of significant memory to cement his thoughts and capture a special time to always remember.
With wonderful illustrations that support the text and valued of the story. The book also has an audio soundtrack of Bizet and Prokofiev which will lift the experience to a higher plane.

My grandmother's mental decline began when I was in my early teens and my brother wasn't even in school yet. It started with little things and quickly progressed over the next few years from early stages to full-blown Alzheimer's. It was painful and difficult to understand. I was watching the woman I'd grown up with slipping away. I wish we'd had this book. It would've helped my brother and I (and possibly even my mom) cope with my grandmother's mental decline. A brilliant reminder that even when the mind is gone, the person you love is always there, even if you can't always see it.

Max is a 9 year old boy. He loves his grandfather that suffers from dementia. Very early in the morning Max wakes up. He gets dress and very quietly leaves his home as he knows something is missing. What is it? He walks very far and ends up at his grandfather's nursing home. He gets himself into the locked and secured nursing home. When he finds his grandfather, Max takes his grandfather to a country meadow. Another resident has slipped out with them and tags along. She is Miss Steinhofel who dances in the meadow. Why does she dance?

This is a lovely picture book which tells the story of a boy and his grandfather love for each other. The illustrations are beautiful and tells the story. Also there is a CD of music that goes with the book that contributes to the picture book. A great book to introduce dementia to the kids and talk about it. Don't miss reading this book!

Max is 10 years old and is scared of losing his grandfather, who has been moved to a nursing home because he suffers from dementia. One day, Max decides to break his grandfather out of the nursing home. For extra entertainment, Miss Schneider follows them out of the nursing home and joins them on their adventure.

A heartwarming book about a boy and his grandfather. Max wanted to help his grandfather. He thought of the perfect place to spend the day together, one that was familiar and held happy memories. The Miss Schneider character added humor and silliness to the story.

Colorful illustrations. This picture book contains a lot of text, so I would say it's geared toward older kids. Great for families to read together that are dealing with a grandparent's dementia.

A great book for a tough situation, "If My Moon Was Your Sun" focuses on a boy named Max and his changing relationship with his grandfather. Max takes his grandfather on an adventure outside of the confines of the nursing home and together they face Max's feelings of loss. Max dreads the day his grandfather will no longer remember him because of the dementia that is slowly taking his memories. He ends up reassured because of a really lovely interchange about the moon. I won't go into detail because I don't want to ruin it for anyone.

No book can be perfect, this book has a couple minor weaknesses in that it is a translated book and thus loses probably a bit of the fluidity that it had in the native language and also that it is a bit long for a picture book. If you live in the USA like I do, you know that it is often quite difficult to get parents to choose picture books for kids after kindergarten. This book is of a length and subject matter more appropriate for a little bit later.

I experienced this book as a NetGalley ebook, however, it appears that this book has been released as a book with CD which includes the story and music that the grandfather likes. I'm sure it is quite excellent experienced like that and that's how I would recommend enjoying this book. If you are in a situation where you need this book, then it will probably be difficult to read this book aloud to the child who needs this book which makes the CD format much more appealing.

Recommended for those dealing with the gradual loss of grandparents due to dementia or similar conditions. Additionally recommended for anyone who has a fondness for books from other countries.

Delightful and oh so sweet! If My Moon Was Your Sun is a heart-blossoming tale about the amazing relationship between a grandfather and grandchild amidst the trials of memory loss and elder care. This short chapter book would be wonderful shared between a parent and child.

This is a wonderful read that will generate discussion for parents and their children on the topic of aging grandparents. It was refreshing to have a child's perspective as his grandfather moved into a nursing home. Quite an adventure ensued, and there were laughs and love along the way!

Thanks to Andreas Steinhofel, the publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If My Moon Was Your Sun is a heartwarming yet poignant story about Max who doesn't want "The Great Forgetting" to take his grandfather away from him. As his grandfather's memory is slipping more and more, Max devises a plan to steal away his grandfather from his nursing home to a place his grandfather loves, a meadow in Blossom Valley. Max knows his well-intentioned kidnapping will come to an end, so he enjoys his time and his memories with his grandfather (and another escapee from the nursing home) while the time lasts.

It is a great read for anyone, child or adult, who is struggling with a loved one's memory failing them. If My Moon Was Your Sun reminds us to cherish the time we do have while knowing we'll always have deep rooted memories that will not be forgotten.

In If My Moon Was Your Sun, 10 year old Max has to deal with the fact that he won't be able to do the same things he's grown use to doing with his grandpa. He's got to face the fact that there are going to be times in his life when his grandpa isn't like his grandpa so he decides to kidnap him. In an attempt to spend yet another time without his grandpa without the staff at the nursing home hanging around, he sneaks his best friend out for a day at the beach and basically gets surprised with a tag along.

If My Moon Was Your Sun hit a soft spot as my grandpa is going through her own battle with dementia and aging. She spent a few weeks in a care center and I'll admit, at 30 years old, it was still difficult for me to see. I think Andreas did a lovely job writing Max and the understanding he seemed to have for his grandpa's difficult situation even though he didn't know everything that was going on. He handled the topic pretty well, in my opinion and gave me a story that wished I could just spent a day reliving an old memory with my grandma in a place that we loved.

If My Moon Was Your Sun

by Andreas Steinhöfel

Illustrated by Nele Palmate

Translation by Matthew O. Anderson

If My Moon Was Your Sun is the poignant tale of ten year old Max who kidnaps his grandfather from an assisted living facility where he lives because he is gradually losing his memory. Max takes his grandpa to Grandpa’s favorite place where he first kissed his future wife and asked her to marry him. They are accompanied on their adventure by Miss Schneider who relives her younger days by dancing through the meadow.

I was provided with a digital version of this book for reviewing purposes, but the actual book has a CD audiobook with classical music by Georges Bizet and Sergei Prokofiev. The original story was created as part of the Ohrenspitzer project for children’s concerts. There are annotations throughout the book indicating the musical work and composer that accompanies each segment of the book. Most of the compositions are by Prokofiev, so I listened to some of his works and can only imagine how wonderful the union of the story, artwork, and music must be.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Plough Publishing House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Children’s Fiction, Parenting and Families

Notes: accompanied by CD audiobook

Publication: November 1, 2017—Plough Publishing House

Memorable Lines:

The special thing happened when you let yourself sink slowly into the tall grass and pressed your hands into earth, which was firm and yet soft too, as though it could breathe. You closed your eyes, you breathed deeply in and out, and in no time at all you felt rooted and alive. Your thoughts became clear and orderly: the right thoughts flowed through your mind like cool, wet silver, and the wrong thoughts burned up like rust in a very hot fire.

To keep the Great Forgetting away from Grandfather when it tried to grab hold of him, it was sometimes enough to hug him tightly, offering nearness and security.

Watching Miss Schneider dance was like watching the sun spill itself over the earth. Stiff arms and legs, now in motion, suddenly seemed touched by eternal youth, and from their graceful movements a lightness flowed throughout the valley.

This book trails Max as he makes a daring choice to break his Grandfather out of a nursing home and the beautiful day that follows. This book is simultaneously heart warming and heart breaking. The illustrations are striking and enrich the emotions that this beautiful narrative tells. This book shows the range of emotions Max goes through as he struggles with his aging grandfather as his mind deteriorates. The balance of narrative and illustrations is well done and will be a joy for any child to read.

The copyright page on this book lists it as originally published in 2015 in Germany. This little gem is so wonderful I wonder what took so long to decide to release it to the English-speaking world. I only wish I wasn’t reading it on a black and white Kindle Paperwhite. I checked out a “look inside” on Amazon and the colors of the illustrations are so vibrant and fun.

As with most children’s books, this story teaches a lesson. The author is able to get this lesson across without it being shoved in your face. Max loves his grandfather and misses spending time outdoors with him. But grandpa has the “great forgetting” and now lives in assisted living. Luckily, grandpa still has more lucid moments that non-lucid and he reassures Max that even if he forgets him at times, his love is always there. You don’t have to see love to be loved.

It’s a beautiful tale of love, freedom, loss, and protection. I can’t even imagine the depth that would come from experiencing this story with the illustrations and the music as it’s being packaged. I believe I may have found a Christmas gift for one of my nieces or nephews.