The title refers to the fact that Max’s grandfather has dementia, and is slowly losing memory of his life. A black crow appears in nearly every illustration, which acts as a reminder that there is always something dark at work throughout the story – this threatening “Great Forgetting,” as Max calls it, or perhaps, too, the real loss of his grandfather looming in the future. And how do Max and his grandfather deal with this? That is the heart of the story. What happens when light trades places with darkness?

An author and illustrator explain how music inspired a children's book about dementia.