Here and There

by Tamara Ellis Smith, Evelyn Daviddi (Illustrator)

Overview

A young boy, Ivan, experiences the early stages of his parents’ separation and finds hope in the beauty and music of nature. This tale of personal growth will provide a much-needed mirror for children in times of change -- and an important reminder for all that there’s beauty everywhere you look.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782857426
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	03/31/2019
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2019

K-Gr 2-Ivan is a young boy who lives with his mom (here) but he visits his dad at his house (there). He has high spirits and is constantly moving and singing. Ivan sings with the animals and the birds but when he has to go his dad's house, he stays still. His dad tries to get him to make a robot or go swing outside but Ivan doesn't want any part in it. His dad takes out a guitar and starts strumming and Ivan can't resist the urge to start moving. Ivan asks his dad if the song has words and his dad responds "Not yet, maybe check your pockets?" Ivan starts pulling out bits of bird seed and making up words to his dad's songs. Soon, Ivan returns to his mom, but he is sad and misses his dad's songs. He doesn't have the bird seed that his dad gave him, but he finds happiness in the birds singing at mom's house. This picture book offers a child's perspective on separation. Smith emphasizes the words here and there throughout the text in bold. VERDICT A tender book best shared one-on-one.-Amy Lukich, Tinley Park Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

04/15/2019

Ivan is adjusting to life after his parents’ divorce, and his father’s new home feels unfamiliar and strange: “Ivan wanted to stay Here (his mama’s house), but he had to go There (his dad’s new house).” His dad, whose tattoo features Ivan’s name, tries to get the normally vivacious boy to come out of his shell by pulling out his guitar. Happily, Ivan, who is biracial (his mother is brown skinned, his father is white), is soon singing along. His dad explains that he “started the tune before he moved” and continued to work on it after, emphasizing that their moments of joy, as carried through music, keep them connected regardless of big life changes. Collage images are full of lively details: birds perch on the windowsills, and cheery plants and flowers grow in and around both homes. No divorce comes without adjustment, the book indicates, but, given time, separate homes need not feel so separate. Ages 3–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

2019-01-15

A child with newly separated parents grapples with moving back and forth between their homes.

Ivan doesn't want "to go There (his dad's new house)." At Mama's house (which he thinks of as "Here"), Ivan indulges his love of birds by feeding them and mimicking their calls and songs. But when he's There, he's still and quiet, refusing to engage with Dad and remaining silent when he hears birds. But when Dad plays his guitar, Ivan can't resist. "He felt the way he did when Mama lifted him high to pick pears from the branches of their tree. He moved the way he did when Dad pushed him on a swing as high as the sun." Dad invites Ivan to put words to the song, and he does, with a mishmash of bird calls, cheers, and the words "Here" and "There." The father-and-son collaboration makes "There" feel more like a home, so much so that Ivan feels he's lost something when he returns to Mama's house. She notices he's still and quiet and successfully draws him out. He hears birds, remembers the song, and sings it to Mama. Appropriately, this isn't a happily-ever-after story but one that offers affirmation and hope for kids navigating parental separation. In Daviddi's pencil, acrylic-paint, and collage illustrations Ivan and Mama both have brown skin and dark Afros while Dad presents white. There seems to be little attempt to represent the birds naturalistically, but there is a guide to the calls in the backmatter.

Needed everywhere. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews