August 1, 2023
"This is not goodbye, sweet child. / I'll see you on the other side...." Minor's rhyming, first-person verse reads as though spoken by someone who has already passed away. While belief in the afterlife isn't universal, many readers will find comfort and peace in the text's gentle, loving reassurance, which avoids imposing a specific belief system by omitting words like heaven, soul, and spirit. Meanwhile, Rahman's digital illustrations present diverse children grieving, remembering, and honoring the dead. The opening spread depicts a sleeping brown-skinned child, a photograph of a tan-skinned adult on the nearby nightstand. On the facing page, the same adult pushes the child on a swing. Accompanying text reads, "I'll still be in your dreams / and all the quiet spaces in between. / My light shines within you, / though it may be unseen." Later, another child with darker skin and braided black hair stands before an altar decorated for Dia de los Muertos, gazing at a portrait of an elder. Though hints in the visuals cue characters as, for instance, Latine or Muslim, the text is kept general, and its ambiguity around the circumstances of loss in each scene will, in turn, allow a range of readers to relate to the emotions they experience. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A comforting, useful book for children dealing with loss. (Picture book. 3-8)
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Starred review from September 1, 2023
K-Gr 2-Narrated in first-person rhyming quatrains and told from the perspective of a lost loved one, this gentle title offers comfort to young readers coping with grief. The text reassures that love can still be felt even after loss: "Like the moon still shines/ when hidden by the sun, / I'm here to guide you./ Your journey's just begun." It also offers suggestions for processing loss: "Write me a letter/ and share how you feel./ Your message will reach me/ and help you to heal." The quality of the verse is a bit uneven, though accessible throughout; Minor wraps sadness in encompassing language that does not limit this to a specific religion or belief system. Rahman's digital illustrations are soft and ethereal, depicting diverse skin tones, family structures, and stages of mourning; each spread shows a child or family moving through their grief in different ways, often with the spirit or memory of their loved one (pets included) incorporated into the art. VERDICT While the text may raise more questions than it answers, its tone is comforting and its myriad depictions of grief offer many entry points to which young readers may relate. Recommended for purchase where titles on loss are needed.-Lauren Strohecker
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