For Ages
9 to 12

For fans of The Thing About Jellyfish, a touching story about the power of love and family in the face of a parent's early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Ten-year-old Foster has always loved listening to his dad's stories. But lately, Dad's memory hasn't been so great, and Mom's placed sticky notes around the house to help him. As Dad's condition worsens, it's Foster who will need to look deep into his heart and remember for them both.

Sticky Notes is a touching story about the power of love and family in the face of a parent's Alzheimer's disease, and a moving reminder of the ways in which the hardest circumstances can pull us closer together.

"Heartwarming, heartbreaking, and honest. . . . A great family read." --The Monitor

"Heartbreakingly realistic." --SLJ

"Touchell presents honest, believable characters in this heart-wrenching account of one family's attempt to cope with an unexpected life-altering event." --The Bulletin

An Excerpt fromSticky Notes

Spontaneous Bacon Combustion

 

 

Foster smelled it first. A bitter smell like microwave popcorn popped too long. Except Dad wasn’t making popcorn. Dad was making bacon sandwiches.

 

Foster walked into the kitchen. He could see blue flames licking the sides of the pan; the shiny white enamel blackening; and long, sooty fingers crawling toward the lip. A soupy gloom of darkening smoke rolled up and up until it hit the range hood like a solid mass and spilled into the space above Foster’s head. It formed clouds he could taste.

 

“Dad?”

 

Dad wasn’t in the kitchen. You weren’t supposed to leave pans on the stove unattended. That’s what Mom always said.

 

“Dad!”

 

Foster wasn’t allowed to touch the stove. He knew how to turn it off, but he didn’t want to get in trouble. He took a couple of steps forward, arced himself up on his tippy-toes, and was suddenly and shockingly backhanded by the whooshing heat of the oil in the pan catching fire. Foster ran from the room as the smoke morphed into a pillar of bright orange.

 

“Dad!”

 

Foster ran down…

Under the Cover