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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book three hundred and fifty-one

Making friends, and then losing them, can be a painful business. We wish that our friends could be with us always, but often something out of our control happens, and a precious friendship ends. Today's picture book looks at the nature of friendship, and in it the author puts forward the idea that our friends are with us, even when they are no longer around.


Making a FriendMaking a friend
Alison McGhee
Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Simon and Schuster, 2011, 978-1-4169-8998-1
   In the fall, a little boy watches the golden leaves drift down and he dreams “of winter.” Then one morning, he wakes up to discover that it has snowed in the night. Wearing his cold weather clothes, the boy goes outside to play in the beautiful snow. He catches snowflakes on his tongue, and makes snow angels. Then he gets down to the serious business of making a snowman. When the snowman is complete (wearing the little boy’s hat), the little boy realizes that he has created something special. He has created a friend.
   The snowman is there every day for the little boy until the weather starts to warm up. Sadly, the little boy watches his snowman melt until all that is left are his stick arms, his carrot nose, his stone eyes and mouth, and the hat that he wore. The little boy wonders where is friend has gone. Is he gone forever?
   In this special book, the author explores the idea that “what you love will always be with you,” even when that much loved friend is not there in person. Children will see how the little boy’s snowman is there in his heart and in his memories, and they will rejoice when they see how the story ends. 

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