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mldavisreads's review
adventurous
reflective
sad
4.0
Picture book. At the beginning (before even the title page) Louise loses her dog Charlie. As she mourns, she rows off to a wild island not far from her house. She meets a bear, and at first she is scared but then decides to roar back. And surprisingly they become friends, regularly hanging out through the fall as she visits the island. She is clearly finding some comfort in this, but then it's time for the bear to hibernate for the winter, bringing the sense of loneliness back. When she visits the island with her new puppy, she wonders if the bear was ever really there.
I do like the message about recovering from grief in this book, and the illustrations are remarkable. There is so much detail, even in the scenes that are almost monotone to reflect Louise's grief. What I did not appreciate about the book was the ambiguous ending-- did Louise imagine the bear? Was the bear still hibernating? Did something happen to him too? Some readers will appreciate the open ending, but personally I did not.
I do like the message about recovering from grief in this book, and the illustrations are remarkable. There is so much detail, even in the scenes that are almost monotone to reflect Louise's grief. What I did not appreciate about the book was the ambiguous ending-- did Louise imagine the bear? Was the bear still hibernating? Did something happen to him too? Some readers will appreciate the open ending, but personally I did not.
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