Memory Jars

by Vera Brosgol

A young girl finds a clever way to keep her favorite things--and people--close to her forever in Memory Jars, from Caldecott Honoree Vera Brosgol.Freda is devastated when she can’t eat all the delicious blueberries she’s picked. She has to wait a whole year before they’re back, and she doesn’t want to lose them! Then Gran reminds her that they can save blueberries in a jar, as jam. So Freda begins to save all her favorite things. But it turns out that saving everything also means she can’t enjoy anything, and Freda realizes that some things are best saved as memories.A Booklist Editors' Choice Winner for 2021Reviews"Upset that she can’t eat every bucketful of blueberries she picked with her gran all in the same afternoon (“they were the best right then and they’d never be any better”), a lovably quirky girl takes “preserving” to a whole new level. Add Brosgol’s signature big-eyed characters, a touch of dark humor and a mouthwatering jam recipe, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a sequel." -The New York Times

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Fantasy, Food, Humor

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2021

About the author

Vera Brosgol was born in Moscow, Russia in 1984 and moved to the United States when she was five. She received a diploma in Classical Animation from Sheridan College, and currently works at Laika Inc. in Portland, Oregon drawing storyboards for feature animation.

She has done illustration work for clients such as Nickelodeon, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Simon & Schuster. Her first graphic novel, Anya's Ghost, was published in 2011 by First Second Books.

She loves knitting, baking, and trying not to kill her plants. She hopes you are enjoying looking at her drawings!

Reviews

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book has a wonderful concept, but the execution is lacking for me. I deeply relate to this character's fear of change and desire to preserve her memories forever, but the book takes a fantastical turn partway through that I didn't expect. Instead of simply storing physical objects that represent her memories, this girl starts packing up the world around her, including putting loved ones in jars. This wasn't what I anticipated at all, and I found the ending concerning and unsatisfying.

I understand the intended metaphor, but I wish that this book had focused on real-world elements, and on the ways that people go overboard in hoarding special items to try to preserve their memories. The fantasy elements of this book distracted from the message, in my opinion, and even though I still appreciate the premise and illustrations, I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as I had hoped.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story about making blueberry jam and saving mementos takes a deliciously dark and bizarre turn.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Freda’s fears of change and loss understandably drive her hoarding compulsion, but Brosgol pushes the concept too far when fantasy gets mixed up with reality, leaving readers to wonder whether Freda needs treatment for psychosis, especially when Jack remains jarred like Soylent jam.

[Ms. B · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would the world be like if we could preserved our memories in jars like we do for fruit in jams and jellies? Find out what happens to Freda when she attempts that feat.
I loved this because it was such an unusual and original idea for a picture book.
Could this be a 2022 Caldecott contender?

[orangerful · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a kid feeling - I don't want anything to change ever - and learning that life is about change and memories. The same lesson as 'Inside Out' of how that hint of sadness makes memories all the sweeter.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to try the jam recipe in the back. The book was cute, but also a little strange. She put her friend in a jar? You mean she put her friend's memory in a special place? I can see how literal people are going to be annoyed.

[Silvis Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art in here was fun and beautiful. Freda learns a lesson about appreciating what you have in its free form in the time that you can have it. Nothing lasts forever, but you can appreciate what you love fully while its present.

I was afraid this was going to be another picture book that turns a bit sad. I was surprised at the humorous reality-defying moments, like the unmelting popsicle, and her putting her friend and grandmother into her jars.

This was a fun little story that could potentially make for a good craft as well.

~Shay

[Chance Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I loved this one. Enchanting, as well as a little dark and upsetting, but with a jam recipe in the back!

[Lupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I really enjoyed this book. It could be used to introduce daily journal writing but it’s so much more than that. Perfect for SEL lesson.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little story about a girl who wants to bottle up the things she loves so she can keep them forever--her fresh blueberries, a chocolate chip cookie, the neighborhood cat, a new stuffed animal, and even her grandmother to name a few. Nice lesson about how you can't have your cake and eat it too. The storyline seemed a little jagged and I wondered a few times if I had missed a page (I hadn't). But overall, a cute idea. Recommend.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pleasant surprise. Aside from the charming art (as always with Vera Brosgol) the set up seemed pretty benign but boring compared to her other picture books. However the narrative became more and more fantastical. There was a great message here about living in the moment while treasuring memories, but I wonder if it is too subtle.

A cute blueberry jam recipe at the end is a nice touch.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

We liked the jam concept and the remembering of the main character's grandpa, but when she started bottling up people, it got a little weird and my son didn't like it. He gave it a shake of the head when we were done.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is like the cuddlier version of "I don't want you to leave so I'm keeping you in a jar in the basement"

[Natalie Tate · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's almost like someone forgot to write the ending to this one. Really cool idea, but disappointing follow-through.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a little bit cute and a whole lot creepy! That unexpected dichotomy adds a pleasant plot tension, but that's all you get. There is no additional plot to keep this story afloat. The art is fine. We did enjoy the two-page spread of all Freda's memory jars, it was fun to find the different things she had "saved."

The blueberry jam recipe at the end was another fun surprise - there is no pectin! just blueberries, sugar, lemon juice. It must make a very loose "jam"? Has anyone tried it?

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very strange and very thought provoking! My 5-year-old was obsessed, so we loved it.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun and heart in this new picture book about the effort to preserve special moments, relationships, favorites, and love from the point of view of a young child.
This lively, love, circle-ish story should be shared, and paired with IN A JAR by Deborah Marcero.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars-- Delightful illustrations in this unusual story of a girl who hopes to preserve all of her memories "just so." Things take a fantasy turn when she starts storing everything--including people--in keepsake jars. The message is that nothing ever stays the same, but our memories keep things for us.

[Chelse · Rating 2 out of 5]

As always, Vera Brosgol’s art is adorable, but her children’s books seem to be a weak spot for her in terms of storytelling.

I’ve read Brosgol’s full-length graphic novels (Anya’s Ghost, Be Prepared, Plain Jane & The Mermaid) and they all are narratively cohesive. The narrative thread in Memory Jars, however gets tangled, or snipped entirely. What has the potential to be a really powerful story about grief, change, and existential longing, instead falls flat as we miss out on the entire ‘lesson’ part of the story.

That being said, this would make a nice jumping off point for parents who want to talk to their children about grief or change. Just be prepared to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funnily enough the first time we read this was right after blueberry picking! That was a fun surprise since I hadn’t looked at it before. No jam for us though since I wanted to eat them all.
It’s really between 3 and 4 stars for me - I was really thrown by the fantasy element the first time I read it and wished the author had resolved the kid just putting her best friend in a jar, etc 😂 But upon reading it again, and remembering how much i loved Leave Me Alone, I appreciated the silliness of it and the whimsy a little more. Very similar to “In A Jar” which I loved, but this is a little more comedic.

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dang, I really love some of Vera Brosgol's books (Anya's Ghost, Leave Me Alone!) and then she has some real head scratchers like this one and The Little Guys. I'm giving it 3 stars for the usual fantastic illustrations and for the berry picking nostalgia, but I thought the actual story was a bit of a mess.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I gave this four stars simply because I am a hoarder and I love the idea of memory jars or because of the book itself. It's a cute idea but it just slightly missed the mark for me in differentiating between the things we should keep as memories and the experiences we should take out and enjoy in the moment.

[Sarah Mullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book to the kids I nanny tonight before bed & genuinely couldn’t help but crying. It’s kind of wild & healing to be an adult reading children’s books that feel special & sweet. Seriously, might not ever shut up about this one!

[Neha Thakkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! Would be great for living in the moment, gratitude, grandparents’ day, or memory writing lessons. What would put in a jar to remember forever?

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet (no pun intended) story!

[Lisa]

This was nice & took a weirder turn than I expected, which I appreciated.

[Raigan Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memory jars- You ever wish you could save the things that matter most to you? Or do you ever want to keep all of your favorite things close to you? Well look no more! This book was very interesting. In this Caldecott honoree book, a young girl wants to keep her blueberries for the rest of the year because they’ll be out of season and she’ll have to wait, so she finds a way to preserve them. Once she learned that power, she did not stop… But…how far was she willing to go with saving things in jars?

[Madison LibraryBookFamily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frida wants to keep all her memories in a jar. She even tries to put her bestie and her gran into a jar.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bittersweet and offbeat - totally my jam!

[Kelly Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one got really weird...and the ending felt unfinished. But also gave serial killer vibes?