The Scar by Charlotte Moundlic - ADVISABLE

Moundlic, Charlotte.  The Scar, illustrated by Olivier Tallec.  Candlewick Press, 2011. $14.99.  PICTURE BOOK.  The narrator is a young boy and his mother dies on the first line of the book.  He has to deal with the grief and so does his father.  When Grandma comes (his mom's mom), he sees that she is dealing with the grief.  But going on does get a little easier as the book progresses.  This is not a happy book.  It was originally written in French in 2009 and it has been translated into English this year.  I can see why it was translated, but it is not the easiest book to get through.  I am embarrassed to say that my first thought was that this is too sad for children to read or have read to them.  But then, naturally, my next thought was that there are children everyday who have to do more than read this book; they have to live the same grief.  I can see that this is a simple book that could offer some help to someone going through the death of a parent, but I am not of the opinion that everyone should read this just to let them know that death is real.  This is a good book to have on hand if the need arises.   Pre-K, EL(K-3), EL, MS, HS - ADVISABLE.  Brent Smith, Reading Teacher