FICTION

A Shelter for Sadness

by Anne Booth (text) & illus. by David Litchfield
Peachtree. Sept. 2021. 40p. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781682633397.
COPY ISBN
Gr 1-5–This story imagines sadness as a fuzzy blob with stick arms and legs that lives right outside the child, a metaphor intended to help readers accept and cope with sadness. Booth and Litchfield propose not only accepting sadness, but actually trying to take care of it by building a shelter and keeping it safe. The shelter has sensory items that sadness might find pleasant, e.g., a candle, lamplight, or the scent of roses. There are also times to leave sadness alone and to go experience other feelings. The art work is simple but evocative, in an atmospheric palette befitting the story’s content. This would be an excellent conversation starter for readers who are grappling with strong emotions or for lessons on SEL.
VERDICT An excellent choice for collections needing resources on social emotional learning, aimed at those students who already think abstractly.
Reviewed by Debbie Tanner, S. D. Spady Montessori Elem., FL , Nov 01, 2021

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