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The Memory Tree

Name: The Memory Tree
ISBN: 9781928497967

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Savnola Goldridge - Author

Book DashISBN 9781928497967ENEbook

A gentle family story about bereavement, showing children asking direct questions and adults acknowledging sadness while finding a shared way to remember someone they love.

More about this book

Thembi and Thulani are sad. They miss Grandpa Nathi. Daddy and Mommy find a special way to remember Grandpa Nathi.

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CC BY 4.0

Writer: Savnola Goldridge. Illustrator: Agrippa Hlophe. Designer: Jason Gien. Editor: Mariam Mahomed.

Book Dash publication, shared under CC BY 4.0. Cover resized and converted to WebP; artwork unchanged. Suitabook’s AI guidance is a separate assessment.

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Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

Family· AffirmedMemory· AffirmedSadness· Affirmed

Consider

Grief and lossEmotional intensityBereavement· Affirmed

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

bereavementfamilymemorysadnessangerfamily support

FictionPicture book

Themes in Context

Grief and remembering

Thembi and Thulani lose their grandfather; the family mourns and later makes a tree decorated with his photographs.

How the book presents it: The story gives space to sadness and anger, while presenting shared remembrance as meaningful to this family.

Talk about: Would a child find the memory tree comforting, or might the loss remain most prominent for them?

Children expressing difficult feelings

Thembi asks why Grandpa died, and later tells her mother that she misses him and feels sore-hearted.

How the book presents it: Her feelings are met with closeness and reassurance rather than blame.

Talk about: Would a child want to talk about feelings like Thembi's, or prefer to focus on another part of the story?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

It may offer a starting point for talking about how children and adults can feel grief differently, and how remembering a person can involve family stories, songs and photographs.

What Deserves Attention

Grandpa’s hospital illness and death are stated plainly; Thembi cries, feels angry and says her heart is sore. The church gathering and continuing grief are also shown.

A Conversation Worth Having

What kinds of memories, songs or photographs would you want to share if you were making a way to remember someone important to you?

Reading Approach

Read together and pause if the hospital or death brings up questions. Let the child set the pace, and invite them to talk or simply listen without needing to share personal experiences.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. The complete text and illustrations were available for this guide.

What remains unconfirmed

Grief and remembering: The story shows one family's response; it does not establish how every reader or family will experience remembrance.
Children expressing difficult feelings: The story offers a brief family response and cannot show how different children may react.

Book Dash — The Memory Tree

Complete story and illustrations · ISBN 9781928497967

Checked: 7 October 2026.

Relevant to: Grief and remembering; Children expressing difficult feelings

Benefits, discussion questions and reading approaches are suggestions. Your knowledge of your child remains part of the decision.

Heidi