THE GOOD FOR NOTHING PUDDLE

A child struggling with the loss of a loved one must contend with a stubborn puddle.

The unnamed, light-skinned girl is introduced through a series of vignettes on the book’s endpapers; she plays dress-up and hide-and-seek and reads, always with a red balloon as her companion and playmate. But one day, the balloon flies off, and the girl is devastated. The soft color wash in the minimalist illustrations recalls the art style of Peter H. Reynolds, providing a simple background to the more complex emotions that arise when the girl realizes she can’t “push the sadness all the way down to her toes.” When her feelings grow, a puddle forms around her; nothing she does makes it go away. Frustrated, she asks God for help, but finding no relief, she cries out angrily. Over time, she realizes the puddle offers unexpected gifts to passersby, which brightens her spirits and allows her to emerge from the puddle. The closing images depict her with the friends she’s made in her sadness. Despite this upbeat ending, the metaphor is clumsy. The puddle initially appears to symbolize grief, but it later provides help and solace to those in need; readers may wonder how such difficult emotions can uplift others. An author's note offers some explanation, but it may go over readers' heads. The book also brings an inevitably messy process to an overly tidy resolution.

This take on God’s presence during times of sorrow may confuse more than it consoles.