Perry´s mother and father are busy people ... they´re impatient, they´re tired, they get cross easily. And they think that only children, like Perry, should be kept busy. On Saturday mornings Perry and her father visit her gran, Honora Lee, at the Santa Lucia rest home, but Gran never remembers them. ´Who is that man?´ Honora Lee asks when Perry´s father leaves the room. After movement class is abruptly cancelled, Perry is allowed to go to Santa Lucia on Thursday afternoons. She discovers her Gran has an unconventional interest in the alphabet, so Perry decides to make an alphabet book with the help of Honora and the others. Soon everyone is interested in Perry´s book project.
The ACB With Honora Lee unfolds with characteristic warmth, quirky, surprising humor and a rich cast of ´residents´. The story is a meditation on kindness and patience and acceptance; that of the very young and the very old. It´s a story that will resonate with echoes of recollection for many -- from Perry´s endearing perspective on the adult world to the embracing kindness of those who care for the elderly.
From the Hardcover edition.
Perry's mother and father are busy people ... they're impatient, they're tired, they get cross easily. And they think that only children, like Perry, should be kept busy. On Saturday mornings Perry and her father visit her gran, Honora Lee, at the Santa Lucia rest home, but Gran never remembers them. 'Who is that man?' Honora Lee asks when Perry's father leaves the room. After movement class is abruptly cancelled, Perry is allowed to go to Santa Lucia on Thursday afternoons. She discovers her Gran has an unconventional interest in the alphabet, so Perry decides to make an alphabet book with the help of Honora and the others. Soon everyone is interested in Perry's book project. The ACB With Honora Lee unfolds with characteristic warmth, quirky, surprising humor and a rich cast of 'residents'. The story is a meditation on kindness and patience and acceptance; that of the very young and the very old. It's a story that will resonate with echoes of recollection for many -- from Perry's endearing perspective on the adult world to the embracing kindness of those who care for the elderly.
SELECTION - The Globe & Mail 100 Best Books of 2014
PRAISE FOR The ACB With Honora Lee:"De Goldi´s story of an only child´s determined efforts to know and love her grandmother deserves a place in the pantheon of quiet, word-of-mouth classics . . . Perry is funny and bewitching, and all of the other characters, even the walk-ons, are equally engaging. O´Brien´s curious diagram-illustrations pay appropriate tribute to Perry´s admiration for the unconventional." --
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly"Clever, poignant and sweetly funny, this will be especially appreciated by those who´ve experienced a loved one with dementia." -
-Kirkus Reviews"This is not a predictable tale of hands-across-the-generations--there is no treacle in it, no weepy climax--but a portrait of an understanding heart and an exploration of the natural craving for order, however eccentric it turns out to be."
--The Wall Street Journal
