Bear Island
Age 4+
Picture Storybooks
Bear Island is a heartfelt picture book about healing after bereavement by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell.
Louise and her family are sad after their beloved dog Charlie dies. “Life will not be the same,” Louise says, as she visits a little island that Charlie loved. But on the island, something strange happens: she meets a bear who teaches her that getting over a bereavement takes time and that sometimes, things can change for the better.
Creators
Matthew Cordell is the author and illustrator of many books for children, including Wolf in the Snow, winner of the 2018 Caldecott Medal, and praised as “Beautifully paced... ultimately reassuring” by the Wall Street Journal. He lives in suburban Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children. www.matthewcordell.com
Reviews
Cordell speaks eloquently and respectfully to the universal experience of loss and recovery
New York Times
In a story that respects grief’s slow pace, Cordell’s writing and artwork together carry grace and heart.
Publisher's Weekly
A poetically beautiful story of grief and healing mirrored in the natural world has a touch of magical realism as a young girl processes her emotions and realizes that endings lead to beginnings
School Library Journal
Grief can be particularly difficult to address with young children, and Cordell wisely eschews the platitudes often associated with this emotion, choosing instead to demonstrate the healing powers of nature and time.
Booklist
Provides youngsters with a talking point for their feelings about bereavement, and the depiction of a summer of adjustment to life without the loved one is sympathetic and patient. (Recommended.)
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
