NANA’S BOOKS – NostalgiaWorks Adaptive Art and Literature Collection
NANA’S BOOKS is a collection of more than 50 large-format adaptive books, in print and digital editions, pairing fine art with poetry, prose, prayer, and song for adults with acquired language and cognitive impairment. Developed for people living with dementia, the collection is built on communication architecture directly relevant to aphasia: high image-to-text ratio, generous white space, large print set in Atkinson Hyperlegible, one idea per page, and no dependence on carrying narrative or names across pages. Meaning arrives through the image and the short text together, so a reader participates fully without producing fluent language.
Each book closes with a conversation guide grounded in Supported Conversation methodology and DEEP Protocol language guidelines, giving care partners concrete techniques for acknowledging competence and supporting expression. The design serves the receptive channel first: a person who cannot initiate can still point, complete a familiar line, sing, or share attention on the page with a partner.
Clinicians use the books for supported conversation goals, phrase- and sentence-level reading comprehension, naming and semantic access through art, and care partner training. Three NCCAP CEU trainings in dyadic reading, expressive language support, and word-finding cueing accompany the collection. Titles span faith traditions, cultures, and adult interests, allowing selection by identity and personal history. Print titles are $19.99; digital editions add text-to-speech support in August 2026.
About the Creator:
Laurette Klier is a Boston College-trained educator (M.Ed., Lynch School of Education) with undergraduate formation in Communication Disorders and nearly thirty years of teaching/ consulting experience, including urban and priority schools. She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner, Certified Senior Advisor, and NCCAP-accredited trainer, and holds the individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy credential from University College London. Her work in adaptive publishing began with a family member’s Lewy body dementia diagnosis and has earned six national honors: four National Mature Media Awards, the CSA Service to Seniors Award, and the Maude’s Award for Innovation in Dementia Care for making connections.
Through NANA’S BOOKS and its clinical imprint NostalgiaWorks, she publishes adaptive art-and-literature books and companion training grounded in Supported Conversation methodology, the Roy Adaptation Model, and Erikson’s ego integrity framework. Her framework is registered with the Open Science Framework, and her training courses carry NCCAP continuing education credit. She is also co-founder of Mindful Libraries, a national program bringing dementia-inclusive reading to public libraries.
Read about her methodology here: Open Science Foundation Registration: https://osf.io/vjt3u/overview
