Where Do They Go?

October 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-"When somebody dies, /where do they go?" This poem explores death through simple but evocative questions. ("Do they drift with the snow?/Are they sad? Are they cold?") Each question leads naturally to the next, providing gentle prompts for possible solace along the way: "Is it them that I feel, alive in my heart?/Is it there that I go when I'm sad we're apart?" The text and visuals keep the concept of the afterlife broad, which allows a wide variety of readers, regardless of their belief system, to seek comfort. The deceased is regularly depicted as a white space, similar to a cutout, sometimes in human form and sometimes as an object. While there is no direct reference to religion, one image includes a figure that resembles an angel. Warm woodblock illustrations use glimpses of the natural world to extend the abstract but universal quality of the book and the topic. VERDICT For public and school libraries in need of titles on death and grief.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Two gifted Vermonters join forces to tackle the mysteries of death head-on.A timeless question asked by children and adults alike brings together the voluminous talents of novelist, poet, and children's author Alvarez and renowned woodblock artist Field. In this spare, rhymed poem, "Where do they go?" is the driving query of those left wondering and reckoning with loss "when somebody dies": "Who can I ask? / Does anyone know? // Do they go where the wind goes / when it blows? // Do they fall with the rain / from the sky? / Are they my tears / when I cry?" Field's visibly textured prints portray the bereaved here as, mostly, grade school-aged children of different races, allowing readers everywhere to relate. Especially moving are Field's depictions of the departed in near-featureless blank white or black profile, vividly contrasting with the colorful, animated children longing to fill the absence of the missing loved ones. The text is laid out over and around the illustrations; calming horizontal lines of text and image complement one another on some pages, while on others the text is actively incorporated into the pictures. Without ever venturing an explicit explanation, Alvarez offers many tempting suggestions for those adapting to what remains and posits a wonderfully calming conclusion to a "small puzzle" that can sometimes prove large enough to unmoor those beset by loss of a loved one, especially for the first time. Alvarez and Field's remarkable synthesis of word and image here makes for a seamless, powerfully evocative contemplation of grief. (Picture book/poetry. 3-7) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016
Two gifted Vermonters join forces to tackle the mysteries of death head-on.A timeless question asked by children and adults alike brings together the voluminous talents of novelist, poet, and children's author Alvarez and renowned woodblock artist Field. In this spare, rhymed poem, "Where do they go?" is the driving query of those left wondering and reckoning with loss "when somebody dies": "Who can I ask? / Does anyone know? // Do they go where the wind goes / when it blows? // Do they fall with the rain / from the sky? / Are they my tears / when I cry?" Field's visibly textured prints portray the bereaved here as, mostly, grade school-aged children of different races, allowing readers everywhere to relate. Especially moving are Field's depictions of the departed in near-featureless blank white or black profile, vividly contrasting with the colorful, animated children longing to fill the absence of the missing loved ones. The text is laid out over and around the illustrations; calming horizontal lines of text and image complement one another on some pages, while on others the text is actively incorporated into the pictures. Without ever venturing an explicit explanation, Alvarez offers many tempting suggestions for those adapting to what remains and posits a wonderfully calming conclusion to a "small puzzle" that can sometimes prove large enough to unmoor those beset by loss of a loved one, especially for the first time. Alvarez and Field's remarkable synthesis of word and image here makes for a seamless, powerfully evocative contemplation of grief. (Picture book/poetry. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 15, 2016
Preschool-G When somebody dies, / where do they go? Who can I ask? / Does anyone know? For children dealing with a loved one's death, Alvarez's compassionate, inclusive approach poetically articulates a child's questions, confusion, and sorrows following loss. For example, Do they fall with the rain from the sky? / Are they my tears when I cry? Eventually, the open-ended questions give way to more affirming statements that, without providing resolution, eloquently express ways to find comforting, gentle reminders of lost loved ones, such as smiling faces and sunsets. Warm, colorful woodcuts incorporate evocative touches, such as silhouettes to suggest the absent one (e.g., an image of a boy holding a silhouette close appears next to Is it them that I feel, / alive in my heart? ). Though some elements may be esoteric for younger ones, the diverse characters and lack of specific religious references (except one angel image) lend universality. This lyrical, thoughtful, and affecting book about the many facets of the grieving and healing process is one both children and adults can appreciate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)