From the illustration on the first page we can see Fox and Wolf are really good friends but Wolf's very grey coat gives a hint of what is to come.
"They talked and laughed for hours, and afterwards they swam in the warm water until they were tired. Days always seemed bright when Fox was with Wolf."
Then the text takes a small shift in tone. We read words such as promise me and remember. Then come these very sad words which Fox does not understand.
"Tomorrow I will be starlight."
Fox is desperate to find his friend. She climbs a mountain to get closer to the stars then she pulls down a blanket of stars and whispers - Wolf are you there? Wolf really wanted little Fox to recall the good times, the perfect days they had shared. Over time, we see these happy memories working to restore Fox and if you look closely there are new friends just waiting by her side.
The impact of this story lasts a long time. Awfully Big Reviews
Please take a minute to read my previous post about death and grief. You might think you should wait to share this book with a child but if you read it before the child has to deal with deep grief perhaps the memory of this beautiful book will help with their healing.
My friend and I are making a list of very special illustrators and we are working on a project to share these with our blog friends and others. I think we might need to add Sandra Deickmann to our enormous list. My own picture book collection keeps expanding and I really don't need more books but I couldn't resist adding this one to my own shelves.
I am not a fan of book endorsements especially when they are printed on the cover of a book but this one caught my eye. As an adult reader you will recognise this famous name.
Shaun Tan: "A heartfelt fable about the pain of grief and the joy of its revelation."
Companion books:
Here are her other titles by Sandra Dieckmann.
Sandra Dieckmann has doen the covers many books including these Middle Grade books:
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