The Room With the Hummingbirds by Erin Laraway

A Tender Picture Book About Aging, Grief, Family Changes, and the Love That Stays

Some things are hard for adults to explain to children. Aging is definitely one of them. When a grandparent moves into a nursing home, suddenly the places, routines, and little things that once felt completely normal can look very different.

The Room With the Hummingbirds follows Mackenzie Rose as she learns to navigate exactly that kind of change. She is used to visiting Nana Linda and Papa Mike in their warm yellow house, surrounded by familiar things, hugs, stories, and family memories. But after Papa Mike passes away and Nana moves into a nursing home, Mackenzie has to get used to visiting her somewhere completely new.

At first, the room doesn’t feel like home. And honestly, why would it? It doesn’t look like the place Mackenzie remembers. But little by little, the family brings pieces of their life into the room. Drawings go up on the walls. A soft blanket appears. There are family pizza nights. And outside the window, hummingbirds keep visiting. A new place can slowly become familiar when the people you love keep showing up. The nursing home doesn’t replace Nana’s old home, but it can become another place where family memories are made.

The hummingbirds make the story even more personal. Erin wrote the book after her own mother moved into a nursing home, and hummingbirds were already a special part of their family story. Her mother loved them so much that they appeared on the gifts and cards she gave Erin, and even on the urn she chose after her passing. Now Erin’s daughter sees hummingbirds and thinks of her Nana Linda too.

That little detail shows how memories can travel through generations in the simplest ways. Sometimes it’s a bird outside a window. Sometimes it’s a blanket, a favorite meal, or a drawing taped to a wall.

The story carries a beautiful reminder that “Love comes with us wherever we go.” And for a child trying to understand why a grandparent’s life suddenly looks different, that’s a pretty important thing to hear.

Why you need this book

• Gently introduces children to aging and nursing homes
• Opens conversations about grief and family changes
• Reassures children that love doesn’t disappear when circumstances change
• Shows how familiar routines can bring comfort during difficult transitions
• Beautifully celebrates memories and intergenerational connection
• Especially meaningful for children visiting a grandparent in a care home

Try this at home

Create a Memory Box together. Ask children to choose a few small things that remind them of someone they love. It could be a photo, drawing, favorite recipe, pressed flower, or even a picture of something they associate with that person. Talk about why each item is special and what memory it brings back. It’s a simple way to help children understand that memories don’t have to stay in one place. We can carry them with us.

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The Room With the Hummingbirds is a tender and comforting story for families navigating aging, grief, nursing home visits, or simply the changes that come with growing older. It reminds us that sometimes home isn’t a place at all. It’s the people who continue to love us and show up.

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