cover image Great-Uncle Alfred Forgets

Great-Uncle Alfred Forgets

Ben Shecter. HarperCollins Publishers, $14.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-06-026218-1

Unlike the uncertain purport of Alan Arkin's Some Fine Grandpa! (reviewed Aug. 28), which treats similar themes, the message here is clear-and poignantly delivered. When Emily visits her great-uncle, he is busy decorating a Christmas tree, and Emily must remind him what her name is, find his shoes and tie the laces before they can go for a walk. When he asks if he needs his coat, the child replies that it is hot outside (""Hot? Isn't it Christmas?'' he asks. ""But what happened to winter? What happened to spring?""). The man's confusion grows even more apparent-until Emily asks him to tell her a story of his childhood, which he recalls with unmistakable clarity. Relaying his gentle, touching narrative almost entirely in dialogue, Shecter (When Will the Snow Trees Grow?) never once mentions the Alzheimer's disease from which Alfred obviously suffers. He thus wisely avoids any hint of the didactic, though adults may need to supplement the story if children are to appreciate its gist fully. The deep-toned, impressionistic art is effectively-and fittingly-hazy. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)