Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund
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Rate this Book Sonderbooks 96 Previous Book Nonfiction Fiction Young Adult Fiction Children's Nonfiction Children's Fiction Picture Books Contemporary Previous Book Next Book 2005 Stand-outs Previous Book Next Book 2004 Stand-outs 2003 Stand-outs 2002 Stand-outs 2001 Stand-outs Five-Star Books Previous Book Next Book Four-Star Books Old Favorites Back Issues List of Reviews by Title List of Reviews by Author Why Read? Children and Books Links For Book Lovers Book Discussion Forum About Me Contact Me Subscribe Make a Donation I don't review books I don't like! *****= An all-time favorite |
*****Michael Rosen's Sad Bookby Michael Rosenpictures by Quentin BlakeReviewed June 19, 2005.
Candlewick Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, 2004. 32pages. Available at Sembach Library (E ROS). A 2005 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book for Nonfiction. Sonderbooks Stand-out 2005 (#2, Picture Books) This is a brilliant book. Yes, it is sad. Very sad. But it helps you or a child understand that sadness finds anyone and simply makes you sad, not bad. The pictures are wonderful, and the book wouldn’t be complete without them. Quentin Blake shows the sadness all around and all over Michael Rosen, who is sad because of the death of his son Eddie. My favorite page is the first one, with a picture of a smiling face. “This is me being sad. Maybe you think I’m happy in this picture. Really I’m sad but pretending I’m happy. I’m doing that because I think people won’t like me if I look sad.” The book goes on to explore his sadness and the things he does when he feels bad and the things he does to continue to cope with life. “Who is sad? Sad is anyone. It comes along and finds you.” If sadness finds you, this book can be strangely comforting. And I think it can help children know that they are not alone with this feeling. Okay, it helps adults know that, too. Copyright © 2005 Sondra Eklund. All
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