Wrinkled, slow, deaf, grumpy and forgetful are just some of the ways ‘Iolani juniors Carly Tan, 17, and Eliah Takushi, 16, had heard kids describe seniors.

After taking an elective class on issues facing senior citizens during their sophomore year, the pair sought ways to remove stereotypes and increase communication between keiki and kupuna.

Tan says she’s more appreciative of her elders after taking this class. “I’m more interested in their life now and learning about their past,” she said.

“I live with my grandmother right now, so it’s definitely made me a lot more aware of kupuna and issues that they face,” added Takushi.

The class brought in geriatricians, gerontologists and others who work with seniors to help the high-schoolers gain a deeper understanding of the aging population and their needs.

The class struck a chord with the teens, and two years later they have authored “It’s Just Aging: A Story About Growing Up” (Mutual Publishing, $12.95). Tan and Takushi wanted to find a way to show young children how valuable seniors are to the community. “We wanted it to be local and simple,” Tan said.

“It was an adventure,” Tan added. “Originally, we planned on making a handmade scrapbook and not a published book.”

Through the class, Tan and Takushi met Colby Takeda, an administrator at The Plaza Assisted Living, an organization that runs five assisted-living communities on Oahu. Once he heard about the project, he facilitated publishing the book through funding from The Plaza.

“Creating the book was a nice way to help children understand the issues. It generates awareness about the topic, but it’s only half of it,” said Takeda. “It’s a start of important conversations about intergenerational relations.”

The book, illustrated by popular children’s book artist Jamie Meckel Tablason, focuses on young Lily as she learns about her aging grandmother.

Lily makes banana bread with her tutu and discovers interesting aspects of her grandma’s life. The heroine also comes to learn about seniors in general, like how some need to wear hearing aids or use a cane. Tutu’s rice cooker banana bread recipe is included at the end of the story.

“We tried to focus on things that irritate teens about older people, like hearing issues and them forgetting things. Getting them to be more understanding was one of our goals,” Takushi added. “Tutu in the book is cool. She has an interesting life. She’s not just a grandma. … She has her own interests and hobbies. She can make leis, play the ukulele and surf.”

Once the teens had a basic plot, their teachers helped them to test the story on their kindergarten schoolmates. They made adjustments to the story based on the kids’ response.

“Lots of the kids didn’t know a lot about their grandparents,” Takushi said.

Proceeds from the book benefit Project Dana, a nonprofit organization that offers a variety of services, from respite care to minor home repairs, housekeeping and transportation services, for frail and disabled seniors.

Takushi said she likes that the organization helps “people that are lonely and don’t have family.”

Takushi says she is undecided about college and her career at this point.

“I hope to incorporate what I learned in class in my daily life. If kapuna-related career opportunities call, I’d definitely be curious about them,” she said.

Tan plans to explore career paths in psychology, ministry and elementary education, but the things that she learned will help her communicate and understand senior citizens in the community.