Mr Mornington's Favourite Things

My friend Mr Mornington has always lived next door to us.
His favourite things are gardening and eating cherry cake and playing his saxophone.
He's not the best rememberer, though. A little girl lives next door to Mr Mornington, who has played saxophone all over the world. These days, he's a bit tired of all that travelling, so now he plays it just for her. Together, they have a favourite song: one that conjures up memories of all their favourite things. But when Mr Mornington moves into a care home, his young friend wonders if he'll be able to remember her – or any of his favourite things at all... perhaps there's something she can do to help? This heartfelt and gently humorous picture book explores the subject of dementia in an original way. Drawing on themes of music therapy and the value of community and intergenerational friendship, it has a warm yet realistic ending that will help readers to process their own feelings of loss. Includes Mr Mornington's famous cherry cake recipe at the back of the book, so you can try one of his favourite things.

Karen George has spent A LOT of time drawing and painting. When she was small that's what she liked doing best. When she was a little older, Karen gained a first class honours degree in Fine Art followed by an MA from The Royal College of Art. Karen painted film sets for a while until, in 2009, she won Waterstones' 'Picture This' competition to illustrate Freddie and the Fairy for Julia Donaldson. This means Karen still joyfully spends lots of time drawing and painting... and now she writes too! Other titles include Hugh Shampoo (OUP, 2013) and What Happened to You? (Faber, 2021). Karen lives in Bristol, UK, with her family and Dr. Calamari, the cat.