The Heart and the Bottle

Well, it's a tear jerker. The Heart and the Bottle is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a young girl experiencing death and grief for the first time. Oliver Jeffers has so simply put in to pictures what loss can feel like to a young soul. After attending a seminar about suicide prevention in the classroom, death education and potential curriculum has been floating around in the back of my mind. This book, for me, seemed sensitive to the thought process that can occur during grief. It is full of conversation starters and big questions that we need to be asking one another including how do we help our loved ones while they grieve?    

Sisters

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier  GoRaina.com is an autobiographical graphic novel about a family road trip.   A big sister, who was desperate for a younger sister and got her wish, is now a young teen who is interested in privacy and music but not being on a family road trip!  An interesting aspect of this book is that is continually flashes back to when the sisters were younger.  It deals with conflict, disappointments and finding individuality in suffocating situations.

There is a companion book to this one, called Smile, also autobiographical.

Ghostopolis

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel is a graphic novel about a critically ill boy who gets accidentally taken to the afterlife (Ghostopolis) prematurely "I'm not dead yet!".  The images are quite dark at times and the subject matter can be heavy (death and dying, a deadbeat dad, broken family relationships, failed love) but it is also sprinkled with humour.  A skeleton king blushing, some bathroom humour and Benedict Arnold, a hapless traitor even in the afterlife.   There is reference to God (named Joe in this case), forgiveness, redemption and second chances.  Being a graphic novel, it is not text heavy and I think that even the most reluctant readers might be able to enjoy it.

Stuart Goes to School

A grade 3 student who I tutor recommended this book to me for my bus ride home last week. Stuart Goes to School by Sara Pennypacker is absolutely hilarious. The protagonist, Stuart, worries his way through his first day of school. It's an engaging, imaginative book with great pictures. It has a similar style to the Captain Underpants books, but without the same... subject matter.