MICHAEL ROSEN'S SAD BOOK

"Where is sad? Sad is anywhere. It comes along and finds you. When is sad? Sad is any time. It comes along and finds you." Impelled by the sudden death of his teenage son, Rosen offers a personal meditation on living with loss, to which Blake's accompanying watercolors give poignant visual dimension. Addressing readers in simple, unaffected language, the author describes ups and downs; how he sometimes wants to share his feelings, but other times wants be alone; the small acts that make him feel worse or better; how memory can hurt or help. His changeable inner landscape is reflected in the scribbly, emotionally exact art, as subdued color alternates with washes of gray, facial expressions of the author and those around him change—and other signs, from body language to outdoor scenes and the weather itself—evoke each moment's mood. Rosen offers no easy solutions here—but he and Blake close with the image of a candle shedding a small, hopeful light. Readers burdened by similar loss will be touched by the honesty and perception here. (Picture book. 6-10)