Scan barcode
madhamster's review
3.0
Louise grieves after the death of her dog, Charlie.
Rowing to a small island, her anger is useful in scaring a bear. But she recognises a sadness in the bear. Slowly, they both feel better.
Time passes, and Louise returns to the island with her new dog, Millie. There is no bear, and she wonders if there every was.
Colour is used to highlight the changing emotions.
Rowing to a small island, her anger is useful in scaring a bear. But she recognises a sadness in the bear. Slowly, they both feel better.
Time passes, and Louise returns to the island with her new dog, Millie. There is no bear, and she wonders if there every was.
Colour is used to highlight the changing emotions.
mnstucki's review
4.0
Another book getting a lot of Caldecott buzz. I don’t love this sketchy style of illustration, but this story is lovely.
teganbeesebooks's review
5.0
Oof, my heart. A gentle book about grieving. As usual, fantastic job, Matt!
librarydreams's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I honestly don't know what to say about this book. To start, Cordell's art was, as usual, engaging and emotive. He almost could have told this story without any words at all. There are some elements about the narrative that I really dislike, <spoilers>particularly when the family gets a new puppy. The implication seems to be that living beings are replaceable, though this is slightly mitigated by the fact that the puppy likes different things than the first dog</spoilers>. The interactions between the bear and Louise, however, get to the core of grief in a way that is both beautiful and heart-wrenching.
5elementknitr's review
4.0
Lovely, simple art. I sometimes worry about stories like this that seem to tell kids it's perfectly safe and normal to approach wild animals, but the ending was a bit of a surprise here. (No mauling - hah!)
This book is a very nice look at dealing with grief.
This book is a very nice look at dealing with grief.