Beneath

LoveReading4Kids Says

Little Finn is in a horrible mood, curled up under a quilt and refusing to come out. Grandpa wants to help but, ‘You won’t understand’, says Finn. But he does agree to go for a walk, albeit still hidden under the quilt. Don’t worry says Grandpa, ‘I’ll remember to think about what’s beneath.’

He uses their walk to demonstrate that beneath what looks still, there’s lots swirling below that you might not be able to see. The illustrations provide cross-sections to allow readers the ability to see ‘beneath’ and in an extremely moving scene, we see that both Finn’s and Grandpa’s hearts are broken.

The opening scenes have given us clues to what’s happened. Now Finn takes over, wrapping Grandpa in the quilt and starting their process of healing. This walk in the woods is a tender depiction of grief, understanding and recovery, the presentation opening it up to even the very youngest, Cori Doeffeld’s warm illustrations and subtle text conveying the message perfectly.

Andrea Reece

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