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Keepsakes connect us across time and space. Even if someone is gone, you can hold a keepsake and feel a special connection to them.
Keepsakes
play a key role in the heartwarming story A Little Something by Susan V. Bosak. Many people give the book as a gift along with a special personal or family keepsake. The book is a true story and, though some of the keepsakes were changed a little for the story, most of them Susan really did get from her grandmother – even the tacky flowery, orange and red and brown and blue tablecloth!
Start by closely reading and looking at the pages in the story in which the granddaughter receives keepsakes from her grandmother. How many keepsakes can you see in the illustration of the teenage granddaughter with the tablecloth? What are they? Make a list of all the keepsakes in the story.
There are eleven keepsakes in A Little Something: wooden doll; stuffed bear; flute; coin; figurine; pen; watch; picture frame; tablecloth; a handmade needlework heart cushion; and a cedar chest. Where do you think each gift came from?
Make up stories about how and why the grandmother gives her granddaughter each keepsake. Some ideas to get you started: The figurine of the boy and small puppy appears in the illustration of the grandmother and granddaughter on the sofa; maybe it was the granddaughter's favorite and so the grandmother passed it down to her. Maybe the watch belonged to the girl's grandfather. Maybe the grandmother was born in another country and the coin came from that country.
After writing stories about the keepsakes in A Little Something, write a story about a real keepsake you've received from a parent or grandparent, or a keepsake you plan to give a child or grandchild. Make sure you tell the whole story – where it came from, why it was given and when, and what it means. Part of the magic of keepsakes is the story and memories behind them. |
