With her signature spare precision, MacLachlan (Word After Word After Word) crafts a standout portrait of a child-grandparent relationship, set on a family farm. “Billy is eighty-eight years old, and I don’t worry about him dying,” says 10-year-old narrator Jake. “He will live forever. I know that.” When irrepressible Billy nostalgically longs for a sod house, like the one he lived in as a child, MacLachlan skillfully stages Jake and the family’s reaction to this wish. Jake initially balks, then researches how to create a sod house, enlisting the entire family for help after Billy falls ill. The narrative offers a strong sense of place and family, with touches of the miraculous, such as “angel dog” Lucy, who arrives unexpectedly, bonding with Billy, and cheering him. The cycles of birth and death persist on the farm and gently foreshadow the inevitable mortality of its patriarch. MacLachlan handles a familiar theme with grace, providing a lens into an uncanny intergenerational bond, as well as the kindness and generosity of love. Ages 7–10. Agent: East West Literary Agency. (Feb.)
The quiet rhythms of the story and the gentle banter of the dialogue make this an ideal group read aloud, but plenty of young readers will simply find it the perfect book to curl up with on their own.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
"The quiet rhythms of the story and the gentle banter of the dialogue make this an ideal group read aloud, but plenty of young readers will simply find it the perfect book to curl up with on their own."
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
This spare first-person account of a boy coping with his grandfather's death beautifully portrays something rare and surprisingly valuable: the opportunity to grieve for a loved one even while he is still alive. Jake and 88-year-old Billy are "kindred souls." They live on a farm that their family has owned for generations; in fact, Billy was born in a sod house he remembers fondly, the ruins of which still exist on the property. This is an intense, rewarding read: Readers see Billy directly through Jake's young eyes; there is no omniscient voice explaining that Billy is reaching the end of his days, and that's why he is sometimes childlike himself. Some may realize the inevitable early on; Jake's mistaken confidence in Billy's immortality--"I don't worry about him dying. He will live forever. I know that," and "And Billy is going to live forever," are representative thoughts--foreshadows the inevitable. Jake and his siblings undertake a remarkably ambitious project: They rebuild the sod house; Billy moves into it, and he eventually passes away there. The joy the children take in the effort, along with the knowledge that they have enabled someone they love to finish out his days at peace--at home--comforts. It's rare to find a children's book that deals so well with death as part of life, offering kids an effective approach to coping with sadness that incorporates humor, love and joy. (Fiction. 8-11)
An intense, rewarding read.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“It’s rare to find a children’s book that deals so well with death as part of life, offering kids an effective approach to coping with sadness that incorporates humor, love and joy.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“MacLachlan handles a familiar theme with grace, providing a lens into an uncanny intergenerational bond, as well as the kindness and generosity of love.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“These are time-sculpted themes-the bond between a child and a grandparent, a child’s first experience of death, the comfort of continuity and connection to the natural world—and MacLachlan gives them her particular stamp of plain speaking and poetry.” — The Horn Book
“The quiet rhythms of the story and the gentle banter of the dialogue make this an ideal group read aloud, but plenty of young readers will simply find it the perfect book to curl up with on their own.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
These are time-sculpted themes-the bond between a child and a grandparent, a child’s first experience of death, the comfort of continuity and connection to the natural world—and MacLachlan gives them her particular stamp of plain speaking and poetry.
“The quiet rhythms of the story and the gentle banter of the dialogue make this an ideal group read aloud, but plenty of young readers will simply find it the perfect book to curl up with on their own.
The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
Gr 3–5—Ten-year-old Jake lives on a farm with his parents, siblings, and grandfather, Billy. The special bond between Jake and Billy causes the boy to believe that his grandfather will live forever. When Billy expresses an interest in seeing his old sod childhood home rebuilt, Jake is confused and reticent to learn how to help with the one thing his grandfather seems to want most. Yet when Billy becomes ill and must be hospitalized, the family members decide to fulfill his request and surprise him when he comes home. MacLachlan gracefully eases readers into the inevitability of life's natural cycles. She includes a mysterious "angel dog" (a stray) arriving on the scene and immediately latching on to Billy, seemingly sensing his coming death. In typical MacLachlan fashion, the strength of family is the springboard from which the plot takes form. Whether this book is used as bibliotherapy, as a read-aloud in the classroom, or for pure reader enjoyment, it will be a welcome addition to any collection.—D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH