#blogbookaday: A Stone for Sascha

Summary:  “A girl grieves the loss of her dog in an achingly beautiful wordless epic from the Caldecott Honor–winning creator of Journey.

This year’s summer vacation will be very different for a young girl and her family without Sascha, the beloved family dog, along for the ride. But a wistful walk along the beach to gather cool, polished stones becomes a brilliant turning point in the girl’s grief. There, at the edge of a vast ocean beneath an infinite sky, she uncovers, alongside the reader, a profound and joyous truth. In his first picture book following the conclusion of his best-selling Journey trilogy, Aaron Becker achieves a tremendous feat, connecting the private, personal loss of one child to a cycle spanning millennia — and delivering a stunningly layered tale that demands to be pored over again and again.” (Taken from Goodreads)

Review: A young girl must navigate summer vacation without her family pet, Sascha and as heartbreaking as the story begins, it soon takes you from the beginnings of history to present day by following an object that has seen it all. Completely gorgeous with digitally pained illustrations that you might swear are painted on canvas (and should be hanging in a museum), this wordless picture book is both powerful and deep and something that should be read over and over again.

Personal Reaction: I would be really interested to hear what kids have to say about this book. I think an older group of elementary school age students could really dig deep into this wordless picture book and learn a lot and share a lot about themselves. Aaron Becker is a skilled illustrator and storyteller and this book is no different. I really liked the golden yellow that is pulled across each spread and into the next illustration. This story would make a really interesting writing prompt for kids, either write the story that you see in the images or write your own version of something that spans historical events, maybe from that object’s perspective. Either way, I think sharing a book like this opens up your imagination in a completely different way than a written picture book does, which is what makes this so powerful.

Title: A Stone for Sascha
Author: Aaron Becker
Illustrator: Aaron Becker
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: May 8, 2018

This is a new idea I’m trying on my blog this year that was inspired by @donalynbooks and @heisereads – to provide a brief review of a picture book every day of 2018. You’ll get a brief summary of the story, a review of the content, illustrations and theme, my personal reaction to the book and all the pertinent publication information! Enjoy!