My absolute favourite butterfly is the peacock butterfly.

It has such beautiful, Nana Phoebe wears an apron with pictures of butterflies on. I don’t just mean when she’s

bright colours. Did you know that the colours are only on the top side of its cooking, either – I mean she wears it all the time. I think that she must put it on every

wings? The underside is almost completely black. I know this because I love morning when she gets dressed because I don’t think that I’ve ever seen her not wearing it.

butterflies, if you couldn’t tell already.

My Nana Phoebe also loves butterflies. She’s my nana but we’re like best She has her own lovely smell, too, my nana. It’s not like any other single thing but it’s

friends, too. Ages ago, before she was ill, it was Nana who told me about the special to Nana Phoebe. It’s a warm, comforting smell – or a collection of smells. If she were

colourful side and the black side of peacock butterflies. a perfume, the bottle might say ‘rose petals with hints of chocolate and beeswax’.
1. What kind of relationship does Lizzie have with Nana Phoebe?

2. What impression do you get of Nana Phoebe?

3. How is the peacock butterfly described?

Nana lives a short walk from us so I visit her lots. When I was little,

Nana used to pick me up from school every Thursday and we would

stop at the newsagents. She would always buy me a treat.

As soon as I get to Nana’s bungalow, she always asks, “Would you like a

glass of fizzy pop, Lizzie?” I like that she calls it fizzy pop. No one else I

know calls it that. I also like how she shuffles off for the drink in her

apron and slippers. I know that she’ll always bring the biscuit tin, too.

Our house used to be her house when she was younger, but that was

before I was born. Now, she lives on her own because my grandad,

Albert, died when I was little.

“Butterflies are so colourful and delicate, aren’t they?” I once said to her.

“Is that why you like them, too, Nana?”

“Well, yes, all of those things, dear,” she said. “Especially butterflies like

the peacock because it looks dull with its wings closed but, inside, all

that hidden beauty is as bright as fire.”

1. What things does Lizzie say she likes
about her nana?

2. What does each character like about

butterflies?

3. What part of Nana’s regular routine has

changed? Why do you think this might be?
The thing is that, lately, Nana hasn’t been quite the same. She began

doing some weird things like getting the time of day or the days of the

week jumbled up.

Mum said that she was getting forgetful, just like many older people do.

Dad said that it might be ‘something more’ but I didn’t know what

‘something more’ he meant.

After the first little things, we noticed that Nana had started to put

objects in odd places. One time, two mugs were hanging on the coat rack

behind the front door. I thought that it was funny at first but the wrinkles

on Mum’s brow meant she was getting more worried.

Dad was calm and said, “Come on, Mum. Let’s take these mugs from up

here and make a brew.”

Nana scowled at him but Dad didn’t notice. I’d never seen Nana Phoebe

scowl before. Then, she shuffled after Dad, muttering as she bumped

against a plant pot on the way.

1. Based on the text and illustrations,
what strange things has Nana been doing
lately?

2. How does Dad react to the most recent

event?

3. What difference does Lizzie notice in

Nana’s behaviour?
A few weeks after the mugs-on-the-coat-rack incident, more mugs began

to appear on the kitchen side. They were usually untouched and full of

cold tea. One time, Dad found teabags inside the kettle.

“Meera,” he called quietly. “Come and look at this.”

Mum said not to worry and that she would buy a new kettle. Dad said

that it probably wasn’t the kettle that was important right now.
I can’t remember exactly when Nana starting doing the weird stuff. It

just crept up gradually. Some things didn’t seem too strange at the time –

like when we arrived at the start of the school holidays to find her asleep

in her chair in the middle of a sunny afternoon.

It was a little strange when her favourite chair had moved to the other

side of the room. Nana said that she hadn’t moved the chair but we knew

that she had. Stranger still was when, one day in September, we saw that

she had brought a pile of sticks in from outside.

1. How do Mum and Dad react
differently to what Nana has done?

2. What further examples are there of

Nana’s unusual behaviour?

3. How do you think Lizzie feels about

the gradual changes?
The strangest thing, though, was when she looked at me and said, “Agnes, would When Dad and I arrived during one day in autumn, Nana was outside talking quietly,

you like a cup of tea?” but there was no one else around. She looked strange – like she had the same face but
“Agnes?” I blurted out, laughing. “Who’s Agnes?” it was tired and screwed up.

Mum seemed shocked, then said, “It’s Lizzie.” My stomach dropped as I realised When she saw me, she smiled, so I smiled back.

that Nana wasn’t being silly. She really thought that I was Agnes. Nana laughed a
Then, she said, “Agnes, you’re here!”
little but I think that it was a pretend laugh.
I cried and ran inside.
I thought about it afterwards. Didn’t she recognise me? How could she confuse me
Later, I heard Mum and Dad whispering. Dad said that we all needed to be patient,
with someone else when I visited her all the time? Something twisted and tugged at
and something else that I couldn’t quite make out about ‘Al’s timers’.
me inside.
1. What made Lizzie upset?

2. Why do you think this

incident was so upsetting for
Lizzie?

3. What do you think ‘Al’s

timers’ are?
Dad didn’t say ‘Al’s timers’. He said Alzheimer’s. I asked Mum about it

and she explained. She told me that it’s an illness that might make Nana

more forgetful and clumsy. It wasn’t because she didn’t love us but that

she was poorly and Alzheimer’s disease was stopping her brain from

remembering things properly.

“Is that why she keeps calling me Agnes?” I asked.

“Yes. She can remember things from long ago but is finding it hard to

remember newer memories.”

“But she still calls you Meera. I see her all the time. How can she not

remember me?”
“It’s not her fault – or your fault. She had a friend called Agnes whom

she loved very much and I think she’s mixing you up. She thinks that

she’s younger again.”

I didn’t want Nana to call me Agnes. I just wished that she still called me

Lizzie.
1. According to Mum’s explanation, who
is Agnes?

2. What did Mum say are the effects of

Nana’s illness?

3. How do you think Mum is feeling?

Then, Mum’s phone rang. She answered it and her face creased as she

put her hand over her mouth.

“She’s out wandering again,” Mum said, grabbing her coat and keys.

We drove until we spotted her, then helped her into the car. She said that

her feet were hurting.

It took ages to get her out of the car and back into her bungalow because

she said that it wasn’t her house. Dad had to close the shop and come to

help, too. I stood in the doorway because it was a bit frightening at first.

When Nana was finally inside, she complained at Dad, saying that he

was ‘not her friend’. In her chair, she smiled at me and said, “Let’s

collect some more wood for the den later, Agnes.”

I didn’t know what she meant so I just laughed a little. I hope that she

couldn’t tell that it was my pretend laugh.

When it was finally time for us to leave, Nana became upset again. She

didn’t want us to go. I think that Dad was trying hard not to cry.
1. Why do you think it was important to
collect Nana when she was out alone?

2. What things made Nana feel upset?

3. What events from this page have

already happened on occasions before?
The next day, Mum and Dad were talking in hushed voices. They had

started to do that a lot lately. Mum said that she didn’t know how they

could keep coping with ‘these episodes’.

Dad said that we needed to get Nana some extra help because she was

becoming a danger to herself. Mum mentioned carers or Nana moving to

a different home for some support.

I didn’t think that Nana was a danger. I wanted us to be her support. I

just wished that she was like the Nana Phoebe that she used to be.

Mum’s voice rose. “Oh no, my necklace – I’ve lost it.”

Dad suggested that it might have come off at Nana’s house.

When we arrived, Nana proudly informed us that she’d put the necklace

‘in the suitcase’.

“What’s she put it there for?” Mum muttered, as Dad went to look in the

back bedroom.
There was no necklace in Nana’s suitcase. Mum sighed.
1. Why do you think Mum and Dad
spoke in ‘hushed voices’?

2. What did Nana think was in the

suitcase and what was actually in it?

3. Can you find evidence that Mum or

Dad are finding things difficult?
“Should we take Nana to the doctors,” I asked Mum on the way to

school, “because of her forgetting things?”

Mum explained that Nana had been to the doctors a lot already and there

wasn’t anything else they could do to help. She was only going to get

worse.
“Can’t the doctor give her some medicine?” I asked.

“The doctor is helping as much as she can,” Mum replied, “but there

isn’t any medicine to cure this kind of illness yet, Lizzie.”

At school that day, I kept thinking about Nana. In circle time, we all had

to say what our favourite creature was and why.

I said, “I like butterflies because they’re so colourful and delicate.”

Mr Jackson nodded.

“Even butterflies which look dull when their wings are closed,” I added,

“because they have a hidden beauty on the inside of their wings and the

peacock’s hidden colours are as bright as fire.”

“That’s very observant, Lizzie. A very thoughtful answer,” said Mr

Jackson.
I smiled and thanked Nana in my head. I missed her telling me that kind

of thing.
1. What makes Lizzie think of Nana
while at school?

2. What is meant by the word

‘observant’?

3. What was Mum’s answer to Lizzie’s

suggestion about Nana going to the
doctors?
After school, I went to Nana Phoebe’s because I couldn’t wait to tell her

that I’d been able to mention butterflies at school.

Nana asked if that teacher who always shouts at her was there.

“I think he probably left a long time ago, Nana!” I laughed.

“Did he?” she asked, looking confused. There was a moment’s silence.

“Did you find the necklace?” she asked, her eyes suddenly widening.

“Yes, it was in the car after all,” I replied. She remembered, I thought. A

buzz of excitement zapped through me. She remembered something from

just the other day. I smiled but confusion crumpled across Nana’s face

again.
“Shall we get some more sticks?” she asked. “We need to build the new

den.”
“No, Nana, I don’t think we need any.” I tried to use my kindest, most

patient voice, like Mum said we should. I felt the excited buzz slowly

fizzle away.
I could tell that the stick pile in the lounge had grown bigger but Nana

said that she hadn’t been out for any more. The smell of damp wood

permanently filled the bungalow now. It was overpowering Nana’s usual

scent.
1. What new things have confused
Nana?

2. What differences are there in Nana’s

home?

3. How would you describe Lizzie’s

actions towards Nana?
We used to talk non-stop when I visited Nana. Now, we sat

without talking a little more. She was still my Nana Phoebe;

up close, she still had her perfumed smell, but it was like a

piece of her was missing. Somewhere inside was the Nana

that I remembered.
Suddenly, she stood up and startled me. Her glazed eyes

came alive again.

“Would you like some…” She stopped and, for a second,

looked straight at me. It was like she had one of those little

whirling circles when the Internet is struggling to load a web

page. “Some fizzy, dear? Some… a glass of fizzy…”

“You mean fizzy pop, Nana?”

Then, the trance was broken. She looked over my shoulder

and shuffled past towards the hallway. She never poured me

the fizzy pop.

1. What does Nana have difficulty with
in this scene?

2. How has Lizzie and Nana’s

relationship changed?

3. What things are still the same?

I looked around while she was gone and realised that the chair had

moved again.
When Nana shuffled back from the kitchen to the lounge a few minutes

later, she said, “Hello, dear. I didn’t know that you were here.”

Underneath her apron, I could see not just one blouse but another poking

out underneath the top one. I think that Nana had got dressed twice that

morning. It was kind of funny but kind of sad. Nana was slowly

becoming a bit less herself as the weeks and months passed.

“Did you find the necklace?” she asked, out of the blue.

“Yes, we found it. Remember? It was in the car, I told you.”

“Oh, was it? What about the other necklace?” She winked. “The

butterfly necklace – the one in the suitcase.”

“Your cereal bowls were in the suitcase, Nana Phoebe!”

She frowned at me. “No, not that suitcase, Agnes. You’re being silly. The

one under the tree.”

1. Why was Nana surprised to see
Lizzie?

2. What new thing does Lizzie notice

about Nana?

3. What does Nana say about the

necklace?
Nana was telling me that I was being silly. She was the one calling

me Agnes and putting her bowls in a suitcase, then saying that it was

under a tree.
Inside, I laughed at how crazy our conversations had become. I

played along anyway.

“Which tree, Nana? There are so many trees, you know!” I was

getting better at letting her steer our few conversations; it was easier

than trying to correct her.

“You know our tree, Agnes,” she said. “Where the old den used to

be in the garden. We still need to build a new den there. Have we got

enough sticks? You carved half of the butterfly and I carved the
My mind raced with possibilities – the den, the shovels – and I ran home to tell Mum.
other.”
An odd thought struck me. I knew which tree Nana meant. It was at

the bottom of our garden – Nana’s old garden. I had seen that “She’s getting you mixed up, sweetheart. Remember what I told you?”
butterfly carving.
“Didn’t she talk to us about that tree when we moved in?” Dad reminded her. “She was
But, there’s no suitcase under that tree, Nana!”
keen for us not to cut it down.”
“Well, if we rebuild the den, Agnes, we can take the shovels and get
“Please, Dad. Let’s just check. We can dig and check, can’t we?”
the necklace and the other jewellery back.”
1. What were Lizzie’s first thoughts
about Nana’s conversation?

2. Why does Lizzie start to take Nana

seriously?

3. What are Mum and Dad’s reactions

and what do you think they will do
next?
It turns out that digging near a tree is really, really hard.

Dad sweated and dug and complained and dug some more.

He didn’t find anything except roots and stones…

…until the spade hit upon something which made a different kind of thud – not the

clatter of a stone or the thunk of a root.

We both got on our knees and used our hands to scrape away the earth. There lay

the oldest, dirtiest little case I had ever seen. It had battered edges and a rusted

metal clasp and, when we opened it, we saw jewellery – lots of sparkling

jewellery, including a beautiful necklace with a glittering butterfly.

1. What was found under the tree?

2. How do you think Dad might have

reacted upon first finding something
buried?

3. Why is Lizzie so happy about the

discovery?
Together, we visited Nana and handed her the butterfly necklace. At

the sight of it, her body straightened and her eyes sparkled as much

as the piece of gold itself. Her mouth curled into a smile and I

watched a wave of joy wash over her. There was a little glow in

Nana Phoebe that I hadn’t seen for a long time.

To my surprise, she offered it back to me. “Keep it,” she said. “I

want you to have it.”

“Thank you, Nana Phoebe. I will treasure it, always,” I said.
1. What do Nana’s physical reactions tell
you about her feelings?

2. Why do you think Lizzie felt

emotional about Nana’s response?

3. Were you surprised by Nana’s

response? Explain your reasons.
It seems funny that Nana can’t remember whether she’s been out for a walk,

where the mugs go or what my actual name is, and yet she remembers

burying a suitcase of jewellery with her friend sixty years ago.

She might not know the day of the week but she knows some great tales of

the things that she and Agnes used to get up to. I want to hear them all while I

can.
I don’t even mind so much that she never calls me Lizzie any more. I know

that she hasn’t forgotten me because she doesn’t love me – it’s just the

disease. I’m actually glad that I remind her of someone else that she was so

fond
Most of.
of all, I’m happy that me being Agnes brings Nana joy. She’s always

been the most brilliant nana and one of my very best friends. Now that she

needs an Agnes to talk to, I can still be her best friend in a different way. It’s

the least I can do.

My favourite butterfly is still the peacock butterfly – even when I only catch

the occasional glimpse of its bright colours.

1. What differences are there between
Nana’s recent and long-term memories?

2. How have Lizzie’s feelings changed

during the story?

3. Why do you think the peacock

butterfly was important to the story?