Published: 2021
Series: N/A
Author: Vera Brosgol
Illustrator: Vera Brosgol
Genres: Picture Books, Children’s Fiction, Family, Humor, Realistic Fiction
Audience (Grade Levels): Grades 2–6
Number of Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads Link: Memory Jars
Triggers: None
Review By: Megan Powell
Publisher’s Summary:
A young girl finds a clever way to keep her favorite things—and people—close to her forever in Memory Jars, from Caldecott Honoree Vera Brosgol.
Freda is devastated when she can’t eat all the delicious blueberries she’s picked. She has to wait a whole year before they’re back, and she doesn’t want to lose them! Then Gran reminds her that they can save blueberries in a jar, as jam. So Freda begins to save all her favorite things. But it turns out that saving everything also means she can’t enjoy anything, and Freda realizes that some things are best saved as memories.
Review:
This was a very easy read. I enjoyed it. It was about a girl and her grandma who began to pick blueberries. They had so many extra blueberries that the girl got upset she couldn’t eat them all. Her grandma had an idea that they should store them in jars. This then created a genius idea for the young girl. She thought that anything she cared about or liked, she could put in jars to save them and keep them in a safe place.
Some examples are her stuffed animals, flowers, “her friend that moved away,” cookies, and more. The jars represented special memories throughout her childhood. She got to a point in the book where she was eating toast but it tasted weird. She needed something, and that something was the blueberry jam from her grandma. She bit into the toast and unlocked memories that felt like pure happiness.
The message behind this book is sweet and easily relatable for students. At the end there is a recipe on how to make blueberry jam. In a classroom you could maybe use this book as a writing prompt: “What is a food that you would always eat growing up that you still enjoy now?” At the end of the writing activity the class could possibly make the blueberry jam.
I would recommend this to grades 2–6 at the elementary school level.
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- ELA / SEL:
- This story encourages students to explore themes of memory, family relationships, change, gratitude, and the importance of living in the moment. It can also support personal narrative writing and reflective thinking.
- Extension Activity / Library Application:
- After reading, students can create their own “memory jars” by writing or drawing favorite memories on slips of paper and placing them in decorated containers. Teachers can also use the book as a mentor text for memoir or personal narrative writing. The included blueberry jam recipe offers an opportunity for a cross-curricular cooking or family engagement activity.
- Diversity & Representation:
- The story highlights intergenerational family relationships and universal experiences of cherishing memories, helping readers connect with themes of love, family traditions, and personal growth.
Readalikes:
- The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros
- Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
- The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
- Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
