Hans Wilhelm

A recent discussion in the Children's Books group I moderate has reminded me of this book, which - together with Judith Viorst's The Tenth Good Thing About Barney - is one of my top recommendations for those looking for books to help a child begin the grieving process for the loss of a pet.

"This is a story about Elfie - the best dog in the whole world" begins Hans Wilhelm's I'll Always Love You, in which a young boy and his beloved dachshund grow up together, only to be parted when Elfie show more grows old and dies. As he and his family begin to grieve, the narrator is comforted by the many wonderful adventures he had with Elfie, and by the fact that every day he told her: "I'll always love you."

With its simple but heartfelt narrative, and expressive (and often humorous) watercolor illustrations, this little picture book offers a sensitive portrayal of a child's love for his animal companion, and his grief at her loss. Young readers who are facing a similar situation will find comfort in Wilhelm's gentle story. Highly recommended. show less

Tyrone the Horrible is a trade book about a little dinosaur, named Boland, who was being bullied by a T- Rex named Tyrone. Boland did everything to try to stop Boland from bullying him, from trying to be his friend, to fighting him, to finally giving him a sandwich with hot peppers in it. Tyrone ended up leaving Boland alone after that. I do not know if this story has a good lesson. In the story, Boland first tried to end the bullying by being nice, but that does not work and he has to get show more revenge. This could be a reality check, because often children’s books have a happy ending where everyone gets along; but that often does not happen in real life. This could be used in a classroom discussion about what each student would have done if they were being bullied. I read this book as a story of someone who over comes a bigger, scarier, bully. I like that the illustrations have a soft look, and all of the dinosaurs are different colors and sizes. show less

Wilhelm has drawn on his own childhood in Bremen, Germany, to adapt the Grimm's Tale for younger listeners.
The illustrations are delightful, and there is a "bonus" mystery in them if you look closely - but don't read the author's note in the back because he gives it away!

Some very stupid farm animals have some very wrong ideas of how and why the sun rises in the morning.

I suppose if you weren't an old grump who values intellect, this could be cute. My daughter thought so when she was four.

FOR REFERENCE:

Rated "Indifferent" in our old book database by Rod; rated "Good" by Adelia.