Nana Upstairs And Nana Downstairs By Tomie Depaola

Book Summary
Originally published in 1973 and later re-published with new, colourful illustrations, Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie DePaola is a picture book based on the author’s own life experiences as a child. The tenderly illustrated memoir shows DePaola as a young boy creating deep bonds of attachment with both his grandmother, Nana Downstairs, and great-grandmother, Nana Upstairs. The first portion of the book focuses on what it looks like for a child to bond with grandparents but the final third of the story confronts the concept of explaining death to a young child. An important reminder that DePaola includes in Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs is to savour moments spent with loved ones. Even though it is categorized as a children’s

In DePaola’s Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs, only two of the five concepts are explained. The first, irreversibility, reflects the permanent and conclusive nature of death and is typically understood by the age of seven (Arnold, 2017, p. 8). Because Tommy is only four years old, he is not yet able to grasp this concept, which is displayed by his asking if his deceased great-grandmother will ever come back to the upstairs room (DePaola, 1998, p. 20). Tommy’s mother explains the irreversible nature of death by telling her son, and the readers, a clear and direct “no” to his question (DePaola, 1998, p. 20). However, the way that she describes death to her son is ineffective and confusing for young children. By saying that “Nana Upstairs won’t be here anymore” (DePaola, 1998, p. 16), Tommy might interpret that his great-grandmother simply moved away to live somewhere else, which would confuse him, as well as the young readers. Something that could have enhanced Tommy’s understanding of the irreversible nature of death would have been Speece and Brent’s concept of non-functionality. Also understood by the age of seven, non-functionality describes the fact that bodily functions cease after death (Arnold, 2017, p. 8). Tommy’s mother could have told

Just like Tommy, I had a very close bond with my Nana and spent many afternoons with her. We would cook together, play games, or simply sit and enjoy each other's company with a cup of tea. I was touched by the content of DePaola’s book because of my relationship with my Nana and appreciated the lesson that he was trying to teach young readers: to spend time with your grandparents and cherish the moments you have, because life can change in an instant. The gentle imagery and soft colours that DePaola used were both visually pleasing and comforting, feeling as though you were looking into the author’s own mind at his fond memories of his grandmothers. Although I do not believe Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs to be a successful book to educate young readers on the concept of death, it shows the importance of having a healthy attachment with an elder, such as a grandparent. When a child feels securely attached to an older individual, they are better able to deal with grief and loss because they can openly express their feelings while also having someone to watch for signs that the child is struggling and might require support (Koenig, 2017, p. 72; Gorman & Arnold, 2017, p. 50). Attunement, the process of someone giving their entire attention to another so that the focused-on individual ‘feels felt’ (Arnold, 2017, p. 11), is an integral part of any relationship and, after the passing of his great-grandmother, Tommy’s Nana