Don’t forget to kiss goodbye.
Don’t forget that somebody loves you.
Don’t forget to remember all the special times.
Don’t forget is a beautiful picture book in both story and illustrations, singing through the different phrases we say to children but also speaking what we want them to remember as they move through different times and challenges in their lives.
Written in early 2020 when the world was beginning to feel like it was turning upside down, Don’t forget reminds us that there is goodness in life and that with knowledge of our own strengths and those around us, everything in the end will be ok.
Jane Godwin and Anna Walker have worked together on several books and they are always so well intertwined together with the illustrations adding more to the words and the words showing so much more to the illustrations.
Jane’s words slow the reader down to reflect and think of how they move through life and Anna’s illustrations give us the chance to see how these moments look no matter how un important we may think the simplest of these activities are.
Each moment in our life is important and all are building blocks to who we become as we grow in ourselves and in our communities.
Don’t forget is an excellent book to use in the classroom so try these activities:
- Ask students to compile a list of things they think they should never forget to help them get through a day or life. In pairs create their own books with an illustrator and writer.
- Compare how the illustrations or the words show meaning without each other. Explore how they work together.
- Do an author/illustrator study by comparing all of the books these two have worked on together. Are the themes the same? style of writing
- Explore – what happens when we forget? How might our lives or the world look if we forget? This could be a great big discussion and could lead to some wonderful actions!
