A lovely story about the friendship between a little boy and the people in the old folk's home next door. When one of his friends loses her memory, Wilfred tries to help. Gorgeous illustrations and a heart-warming tale. You could do quite a lot with this in class - exploring what makes a memory, what would children put in a memory box... could lead into writing poetry (I'm thinking Kit Wright's Magic Box model). I imagine you could have a fair bit of book chat with this one. Lovely.

The book was a very cute and sweet story. Memories are what we make them. Memories are all around us waiting: to be remembered. Memories are created by the emotions and feelings we have going on at the time inside of us. Not all memories are good: some of them can be bad. Losing your memories isn't fun either. What Wilfred did was sweet and the innocence of a child who longs to help.

A children's book classic! The illustrations and words work together in perfect harmony to mirror the feelings and emotions this story evokes. The scale is perfect. We are clearly seeing the grown-ups as viewed from Wilfred Gordon's perspective. Mem Fox and Julie Vivas have collaborated to create a work of art.

I adore this. Fun to read aloud, and makes me tear up every time. It's poignant in a kinda sad way, but also full of joy and hope. Young Wilfrid and his neighbors are all inspirational. The art is vibrant and full of movement, very appealing and a good fit for the text. Wonderful theme, successfully presented.

(I've already read this twice, but want to again. Also I want to read, and reread, more by Fox.)

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, a 3rd grade reading level book, would be a great read in any classroom starting in Kindergarten. This book is about a boy who lives next to a retirement home and befriends the people living there. One day he asked his parents what a memory was because they were saying that Miss Nancy, the resident he liked most, had lost her memory. He was not satisfied with the answer he received from them so he resorted to asking his friends at the retirement home. After all of the feedback he received, he tried to put together a memory for Miss Nancy so that it would not be lost anymore. He gave her memories, and they weren’t lost anymore. I think this book would be an excellent way to bring about discussions of signposts such as again and again, tough questions, words of the wiser, and memory moments. This book is also just a nice book to read to get the students talking about how Wilfred had characteristics of compassion and kindness and how thoughtfulness made all the difference to Miss Nancy.

First sentence: There was once a small boy called Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge and what's more he wasn't very old either. His house was next door to an old people's home and he knew all the people who lived there.


Premise/plot: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge has many friends; but his most special friend has four names just like him: Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper. When he hears that she is losing her memory--or has "lost" her memory, Wilfrid sets out in search of it. But first, he has to know exactly what a memory is. So, being young and curious, he asks. Equipped with descriptions of exactly what memory is, he sets out on a quest. Will the items he collects be just what Miss Nancy needs?


My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. I loved the descriptions of memories:

"Something warm, my child, something warm."
"Something from long ago, me lad, something from long ago."
"Something that makes you cry, my boy, something that makes you cry."
"Something that makes you laugh, my darling, something that makes you laugh."
"Something as precious as gold, young man, something as precious as gold."

I love the celebration of friendship as well. This picture book is just a gem.

A nice story in which different people tell a young boy about their perceptions of memories, and he uses this to help an elderly friend get her memory back.

Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge is a young boy who lives next to a nursing home. While he is friends will all of the people that live there, Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper is his favorite because she also has four names. Wilfred learns that Miss Nancy is losing her memory. After having to find out what memory is from his parents and the other people at the nursing home, Wilfred is determined to give Miss Nancy her memories back. He collects a box full of items that everyone had had used to describe a memory and brings it to Miss Nancy. Suddenly, the items in the box sparked her memory and she began to tell stories relating to each object.

This is such a sweet book that shows the friendships between young Wilfred and the old people living in the nursing home. It also provides an opportunity to teach kids about memory loss and dementia or Alzheimer’s. The illustrations are so unique and colorful, yet take up such little space on the page. This emphasizes the characters in the book and how Wilfred describes them. I would recommend this book to readers of all ages as it shows acts of kindness and how it can make a difference in someone’s life. For a younger audience, in addition to memory loss, it can teach them what memory is and spark ideas of kindness towards others.

Delightful story. I plan to use it before I take my students to visit a nursing home.

Curriculum tie-ins - memories, different perspectives, the blind men and the elephant, nursing homes, Alzheimer's

A beautifully written and illustrated book. It is easy to read, and I love how there is such a wonderful relationship between the young and the old. My daughter loved it when I read this to her.

n  Summaryn

Wilfred Gordon Mcdonald Partridge is a book about a little boy, Wilfred, who lives next to a nursing home. Wilfred frequently visits the home and chats with his favorite resident, Nancy Allison Delacourt Cooper. One day, Wilfred overhears someone talking about how Nancy has lost her memory. He then goes around asking what a memory is to several different people and everyone gives him a different answer based of of their own memories. He then goes to Nancy and tells her all of the memories and she gets them back.

n  Evaluationn

I really like the story that this book tells and the fact that some students may be able to connect to this book on a personal level because their grandparents may have Dementia or Alzheimers. The illustrations in the book connect really well with the story and the book is simple enough that most students 3rd grade and above will be able to read the book on their own.

n  Teaching Ideasn

I would use this book for writing in my classroom. Students would write about their favorite memory and I would conference with them until they were ready to publish. Before they started writing I would give them mini lessons on things that good writers do.

What an adorable story! The boy shows how much he cares by taking some of his 'memories' to an old lady friend of his who has lost hers. It is interesting how all of us have our own memories that are attached to the same objects. I think my favorite part was when Wilfrid Gordon was asking the other old folks in the home what a memory was. It was something warm, something that made you laugh, something that made you cry... The old man who said the last one almost made me cry. That is such a sad thought. I want to give that old man a hug. I read this book because it was on my school's pillars of character reading list for caring.