Sometimes Love

by Katrina Moore, Joy Hwang Ruiz (Illustrator)

Overview

A tender, poetic picture book about a military family experiencing happiness, heartache, and learning to grow through change

“Changes come and changes go. Love through changes makes love grow.”

When her mother is deployed overseas, a young girl is temporarily parted from her beloved dog. Told in spare yet lyrical verse, this picture book shares a powerful message about the different ways we show love, from giving, to growing together, to sometimes letting go. But don't worry, this pet story has a happy ending.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593323823
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	07/12/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	311,360
Product dimensions:	8.94(w) x 10.81(h) x 0.36(d)
Lexile:	AD480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Katrina Moore is an author and elementary school teacher. She’s made brand new starts in many places. She now lives with her family in New Jersey, where her home is sometimes full of puppy licks, and always, always, always, full of love (and lots of fur). Connect with her at www.katrinamoorebooks.com.


Joy Hwang Ruiz is an artist and mom who started the popular Instagram account @momisdrawing to capture the magic of new parenthood and celebrate family life in a diverse and inclusive world. Now the illustrator of several picture books, she lives with her husband and two daughters in Southern California.

Editorial Reviews

[Sometimes Love] eloquently conveys a wide range of emotions and lessons through its spare prose and expressive…illustrations that seem to shimmer off the page… An important lesson for young readers conveyed poetically with lots of heart.” – Kirkus

★“[A] wonderful book about love, loss, and reunion…Teaching children how to live with loss is an important lesson, and this offering accomplishes this task exceptionally well.” – Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

2022-05-11
Life in a military family teaches a child to keep love alive through big changes.

One day, a toddler is presented with a gift: a droopy-eared puppy poking its head out of a picnic basket. The two grow up together, and scenes of playing with balls and rolling in grass are interspersed with the ruining of rugs that leads to exasperation, then forgiveness (“Love is firm. / Love can bend”). What might otherwise be a snapshot of new dog ownership takes a turn when the child’s parent, an active duty soldier, is deployed overseas. The shock and anger the child feels turns into sadness and acceptance when the family leaves the dog behind with a service promising “Pet Care for Serving Soldiers.” The family moves, makes friends, and eventually returns home, where the dog, now grown, is waiting for our main character. They’ve grown as well and learned that their love for the dog, and the dog’s love for them, has only grown stronger. The book contains no names or dialogue but eloquently conveys a wide range of emotions and lessons through its spare prose and expressive digital illustrations that seem to shimmer off the page. It’s also a great primer for young readers about the unique challenges military families face. The main character and their family are brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An important lesson for young readers conveyed poetically with lots of heart. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews