Last Week

by Bill Richardson, Emilie Leduc (Illustrator)

Overview

A child cherishes every second of their grandmother's last week of life in this sensitive portrayal of medical assistance in dying (MAiD).

“In this last week, there are seven days.” That's one hundred and sixty-eight hours. Or ten thousand and eighty minutes. Or six hundred four thousand and eight hundred seconds. A child counts every second because this is their grandmother’s last week of life. 

As friends and family come to call on Flippa—as Gran is fondly known—the child observes the strange mix of grief, humor, awkwardness, anger and nostalgia that attends these farewell visits. Especially precious are the times they have alone, just the two of them. Flippa, the child sees, has made up her mind. Like time, she is unstoppable. So as Sunday approaches, the child must find a way to come to terms with Flippa’s decision. What is the best way to say goodbye?

Beautifully illustrated in black and white—with one unexpectedly joyful splash of color—Last Week is a nuanced look at what death with dignity can mean to a whole family, with an afterword and additional resources by MAiD expert Dr. Stefanie Green.

 

Key Text Features

illustrations

afterword

explanation

resources

 

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781773065663
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	04/05/2022
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

BILL RICHARDSON, winner of Canada’s Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, and former radio host, has written several highly acclaimed books for children. They include The Aunts Come Marching, illustrated by Cynthia Nugent, winner of the Time to Read Award; After Hamelin, winner of the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award; and The Alphabet Thief, illustrated by Roxanna Bikadoroff, named among New York Library's Best Books for Kids. Bill lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

EMILIE LEDUC graduated in graphic design from the Universityé du Québec à Montreal in 2010. She studied animation at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal. She has worked as a graphic designer, animator and illustrator for various television series. In 2010, Emilie received the Michèle Lemieux Award for Illustration. All Year Round was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Illustration in 2012.

Emilie lives and works in Montreal.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for author Bill Richardson and illustrator Emilie Leduc for Last Week:

"A sensitive look at what death with dignity can mean to a family." — BCBookLook

"Assisted death is a subject seldom found in children’s literature, but this book handles the topic gently and sympathetically." — Booklist

Editorial Reviews

[Last Week] certainly is a book about coming to terms with grief, but it is also very much a book about love.

Vancouver Sun

Told with marked sensitivity ... [A] com­passionate story.

Canadian Children's Book News

Truly compelling and unique.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Assisted death is a subject seldom found in children's literature, but this book handles the topic gently and sympathetically.

Booklist

Heartfelt ... Black and white illustrations beautifully capture the range of emotions felt by each member of the family. STARRED REVIEW

Quill & Quire

A story of such elegance.

CanLit for LittleCanadians Blog

An elegant dance of image and prose.

The Tyee

A sensitive look at what death with dignity can mean to a family.

BCBookLook

Told with marked sensitivity … [A] com­passionate story.

Canadian Children’s Book News