"Freda remembered her grandpa eating toast
every morning with glossy, purple jam on it ...
... making sure it was spread all the way
to the crust so every last bite was sweet."
While picking blueberries with her gran one day, Freda did her best to eat as many as she picked. With four full pails in the wagon on their way home, she continued eating. They were at their best when fresh, Freda had decided. But there were so many ...
Freda did her best, but she could NOT eat all of them. Gran reassured that it was not a problem; they could preserve them as she had done every year. She has a jam recipe that Freda's grandpa loved. They will make the jam, store it in jars, and have it to eat until next summer's berry-picking adventure.
Hmm ... that got Freda to thinking about memories and keeping them safe forever. Could she use memory jars to keep what she didn't want to lose? Gathering jars was easy. As she began, finding things she wanted to keep was also easy: a cookie, an icy pop, Halloween candy, a stuffie, new crayons. Then, things got a bit more complicated. Her best friend didn't want to move. Could she keep him in one of her memory jars? There were so many wonderful sights and sounds to keep safe. What about Gran?
One day, while alone with her extensive collection of memory jars, the taste of blueberry jam on toast provided the catalyst to learning that we keep memories in our hearts - and that is the best place for them.
Highly expressive, full-color gouache illustrations show a loving family dynamic between a young girl and her loving grandmother. Her gran knows that Freda has an important discovery to make, and she allows space for her to make it. A final twist adds humor, and satisfaction. The author follows up with a recipe for blueberry jam.
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