This quiet, gentle, heartwarming book is meant to be shared – a book first about love and friendship, and then about loss.
When Otto is buried, lots of people come.
Lisa has never seen some of them before.
Everyone speaks in hushed voices, and they all look terribly serious.
"Don’t whisper like that!" Lisa shouts at them. "Otto doesn’t like whispering!"
But the strangers just look at her.
"No one understands," Lisa says quietly. "Why did Otto leave me?"
"This touching story celebrates intergenerational bonds and offers a comforting lesson in loss." - Kirkus Reviews
"German author-artist Bley’s velvety, emotionally acute pictures exude a visual poetry. She conjures a world where minds can meet across the generations without impediments...Children will find much to savor in the book’s radiant pictures and lyrical elusiveness." - Publishers Weekly
"...beautifully illustrated and written..don't miss it." - Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
"...simple, but powerful...It's remarkable how a single picture book can take one through such a range of joy and sorrow." - Jen Robinson's Book Page
"This universal story will speak to many readers." - School Library Journal
"This isn't a book about numbers, but about death...quiet but not frightening." - Chicago Tribune
"A masterful introduction to the characters, an old man and a young girl, and an impressive story about a sensitive subject: death and dying. The deeply hued, slightly impressionistic paintings are irresistible. This is a book you will fall in love with the moment you open the cover." - The Field Guide to Parenting
"...gentle story...illustrations are full of expression and movement." - The Horn Book Guide (Fall, 2007)
"...uplifting." - Yellow Brick Road
"In a gentle yet fearless fashion, the author looks death squarely in the face, exploring with great tenderness and sensitivity the painful struggle of loss. Her fine, expressive illustrations, soaked in glorious colors – the blues, stunningly, inexpressibly blue, the greens fresh and velvety – convey the depth of Lisa and Otto’s love for each other. This is a book to share with loved ones of all ages, but will be especially helpful for young children dealing with loss." - The Bloomsbury Review
"...a beautiful story on a very difficult topic..." - Lane Education Service District
"...this quiet, gentle, heartwarming book is meant to be shared." - A Readable Feast
"...a poignant, sensitive story about love and loss." - Playthings
Don't miss Anette Bley's latest picture book,
A Friend
HARDCOVER ISBN: 978-1-933605-27-2
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