One of my favourite childhood memories is Mum reading to me. Now I can return the favour.

About

These books were shaped by lived experience and informed by dementia-friendly design guidance. They are not clinical tools. They are a simple way for two people to stay connected through reading.

The idea came from time spent with my mum.

When she moved into aged care, I brought in some of her favourite books. I noticed she could still read a short caption linked to an image, but not a full paragraph. That small shift sparked the idea to create books built around what still worked.

Short, clear sentences. Familiar images. No pressure to follow a storyline. Just something we could read together and talk about.

And true to form, she does love them.

We read a page or two at a time. She takes in the image, reads the sentence, and often says, “That’s true, you know.” She nearly always has a pen in hand, sometimes underlining the lines she agrees with, just as she would have after years as an English teacher.

These books have given us a simple way to spend time together again. On days when conversation is difficult, they offer a gentle point of focus. On other days, they lead to easy, familiar exchanges.

It is not about reading perfectly. It is about making connection easier.