Memory Jars

By Vera Brosgol. Published by Roaring Brook Press.

Hardcover, 48 pages, Colour, 2021. 

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.

Vera Brosgol was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1984 and moved to the United States when she was five. Her books include the graphic novels Anya's Ghost and Be Prepared, and the 2017 Caldecott Honor picture book Leave Me Alone! She drew storyboards for the animated films Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls. She lives with her dog, Omar, in Portland, Oregon, where she puts all kinds of things into jars every summer.

Reviews
“With poignant force, Brosgol’s delicious fable conveys the lesson that some things must be savored in the moment.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“This playful, off-kilter story will resonate with any kid frustrated by a good thing being over too soon.” —Booklist, starred review

“Visual humor and genuine charm at every turn.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Readers will delight in Freda’s journey to keep her memories safe, as well as her subsequent understanding of what she has done, in a book that would be at home in all collections." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Upset that she can’t eat every bucketful of blueberries she picked with her gran all in the same afternoon (“they were the best right then and they’d never be any better”), a lovably quirky girl takes “preserving” to a whole new level. Add Brosgol’s signature big-eyed characters, a touch of dark humor and a mouthwatering jam recipe, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a sequel." -The New York Times