Processing the past: illustrator Amy Bunting on her children's book about dementia

Dementia is often a hushed subject matter... What was the moment or conversation which made you realise that this story had to be told for children?
When we found out that my gran had vascular dementia, I realised that my own understanding was exceptionally limited until it was literally part of our everyday lives. I thought dementia was a type of Alzheimer's. As I investigated it, I found out that dementia is the overarching umbrella. It's that feeling of not knowing what's going on. So, I was working through, processing it, feeling helpless, but also trying to do what's best for my grandma.  

I've always had a passion for children's picture books. I did illustration at university, and I think children's picture books are incredible because they're able to put across complex information and break it down in an accessible way. All those things happened slowly together, and that's what gave me the drive of ‘there's an area where I can help, and it is speaking to children about dementia’.

You dedicated this book to your wonderful gran, Olive Bunting. Are there any specific 'Olive-isms' or personality traits of hers that readers can find hidden within the character in the book? 
Some of her Olive-isms come straight from my memories. Like how she always had a scarf with this little round metal thing on it (I still don’t know what it’s called!), her locket, plus these huge gold glasses that got bigger the more I drew her. There’s a dinner scene in the book where everyone’s got gravy except Gran, because she never liked it. Later, as dementia took hold, she forgot, and started eating gravy: something I really wanted to show but had to lose due to its storytelling. 

Little moments from her care home days are tucked in too, like the bear on her nightie. Blankets were a big thing for her – she always had a knitted one on her lap. There’s the bakery box with elephant’s feet and apple turnovers, ice buns and chocolate mice that she’d buy for me and my sister. These little things make the Olive-isms feel real in the story.

If Olive could see this book today, what do you think she would be most proud of?
Honestly, I just think she would be incredibly proud of me. I have so many memories of just sitting with a board on my knee and drawing whenever I was at my gran's. She would always be checking what I was doing, and having a look. And she was always so uplifting. I always felt really good showing her what I'd drawn. I think she'd just be most proud that I'd drawn all of this!

Writing about a loved one can be a form of catharsis. Did the process of creating My Granny Is Changing change the way you personally remember or relate to your grandmother?
We lost my gran in 2015. When I first started working on this book about a year after, I couldn't draw her without crying. Immediately after we'd lost her, all I could remember was the version of my gran that had dementia. She was so different and frail. It was very emotionally draining. But again, it was that drive of ‘I want to help people!’ So it was a catharsis and personal remembering.  

At that early stage, I was working on the main memories that I had in the front of my mind. I only realised upon opening the finished story that it helped me fully process my grief. I can draw my grandma now and just feel joy! It's brought me back to who she was before all of this – it feels like I've made something good out of bad.

How did you find the balance between being honest about the changing aspects of dementia while still keeping the story hopeful and accessible for a young audience? 

That was very much on my mind in the early years. I knew immediately that I didn't want to end it with the ending we'd just gone through, because I wasn't trying to write a book about how to deal with bereavement and grief. There are amazing children's picture books out there that deal specifically with loss, and that wasn't the area I wanted to focus on.

I’d done an illustration degree at Nottingham Trent University many years prior, but they also do these great short courses. I really enjoy working with people in illustration – it makes my creativity just feel bigger. We worked through the story and narrative, and I got the ending: ‘no matter how much she changes we will always love Granny’. The idea was that no matter what happens, love is still there. I held on to that because that was the emotional balance in keeping it accessible, and hopeful enough for it to not be too overwhelming a story. 

How did you find the balance between being honest about the changing aspects of dementia while still keeping the story hopeful and accessible for a young audience? 

That was very much on my mind in the early years. I knew immediately that I didn't want to end it with the ending we'd just gone through, because I wasn't trying to write a book about how to deal with bereavement and grief. There are amazing children's picture books out there that deal specifically with loss, and that wasn't the area I wanted to focus on.

I’d done an illustration degree at Nottingham Trent University many years prior, but they also do these great short courses. I really enjoy working with people in illustration – it makes my creativity just feel bigger. We worked through the story and narrative, and I got the ending: ‘no matter how much she changes we will always love Granny’. The idea was that no matter what happens, love is still there. I held on to that because that was the emotional balance in keeping it accessible, and hopeful enough for it to not be too overwhelming a story. 

You also illustrated and designed the book. How did you go about visually representing the concept of change in a children’s book (without making it scary)?
At the start, I found it quite hard, because like I said, I was too close to the loss of my gran and her experiencing dementia. But I went to a summer art school in Cambridge in 2023 and I got to focus on it, for the first time, solidly without any work in the way. This helped me to really dig into the visual representation – asking the character some questions and answering them as if I was Granny. 

I tried to do the changes between pre-dementia and post-dementia quite subtly. Some of it is a change in clothing to sort of signify less of her control over her own image. There are bits where I flatten her hair a little and her hair is not as big. She always had this little quiff going on, and she loses this. I tried to change her physical demeanour. In the later pictures, she's not actively hugging, she's being hugged. She's got the blanket over her, so she becomes less active in the images. 

 What do you hope readers will take away from My Granny Is Changing?
That they're not alone, others have been through this too, and that people are there for you. I tried to pick the bits of my gran's dementia journey that were very universal so that people could see in it their own experiences. I want them to know they're not alone in it.   

My Granny is Changing is available now on Crowdfunder. £1 from every book sold supports Teesside Dementia Link Services. 

@amybunting.creative