My Favorite Memories

Gr 3 Up–At the start of this sweet story, Papa and Mama tell their young daughter that they’ll be moving to a new country. Mama hands the child a small suitcase, telling her to only take her most favorite things. This feels like an impossible task to our heroine. How can you fit a pear tree or a singing bus driver or a best friend into a suitcase? The protagonist’s imaginative solution to her conundrum is to send her favorite things in bottles across the ocean to her new home where she awaits their arrival on the beach. This ending may be heartwarming to adults, but young readers may wonder: How can you fit something into a bottle that doesn’t fit into a suitcase? Written in first person, there’s a quiet strength and gentle humor to the simple narration of this text translated from the original German. With just a few lines per page, the reader is left with plenty of time to ponder the imaginative illustrations. Völk’s illustrations meld specific details of the protagonist’s life with the surrounding city. Grayscale linework and shading are supported by ample white space and punctuated by small bits of primary colors for important elements: a yellow bus, a red suitcase, blue ocean waves. This picture book will resonate with readers who are excited to move, but unsure about the things that must be left behind.