Today I'm excited because my PPBF pick is perfect
for such a time as this.
it aligns beautifully with the one-year mark of the world
pressing pause and pushing through the pandemic.
Because, just like in the book, a year ago,
things were rockin' along, until they weren't.
Title: The Heart and the Bottle
Author & Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Birth date: September 1, 2010
Suitable for: ages 5-8 (and beyond)
Themes: grief, feelings, hope
Brief synopsis: Not knowing what to do when she faces a devastating loss, the young girl hides her heart in an empty bottle.
Opening page: Once there was a girl, much like any other.
Resources: Watch a read-aloud {here}.
Visit the author's site {here}.
Read a BrainPickings review {here}.
Enjoy a FromWordsToWorlds review {here}.
Help Children Grieve with Sesame Street {here}.
Compare and contrast to Wishes For One More Day.
Why I like this book: Truth be told, I had to read it several times before deciding that I liked it. I knew there was probably some richness to it, because it came as a gift from my friend Melisa in Spokane, but it's pretty existential really. And I wasn't sure when I got it that I got it. Or that kids would get it. But, here I am, revisiting it today at the one-year marker of a whole bunch of grief and loss and BOOM!
It's totally resonating with me today, in this moment.
The carefree young sprout, who's got the freedom
and flair to dream big and live even bigger,
seems to have the world by its tail.
The world is her oyster, if you will.
Until.
The. Empty. Chair.
Loss.
Sharp. Deep. Devastating.
Heartbreak.
And helplessness.
And where loss lives, grief goes.
Uncertain what to do with her feelings,
she armors up by putting her heart into a bottle.
Safe and secure.
Away.
For. A. Long. Time.
Until she needs it, no wait, craves it again.
Connection.
Feeling.
Love.
Life.
So she works with intention to get it out of the bottle.
But she finds that she simply cannot do it alone.
The answer, it turns out, came from someone
coincidentally about the age of the child
that she was when she caged her heart
in its protective glass bottle years prior.
What's not to love?
So I imagine it a beautiful springboard into
The Empty Chair activity I used in my counseling,
asking kids to imagine their loved one sitting
in the empty chair and encouraging them to
have that conversation that they long for:
What do they need to say?
And what do they long to hear?
So powerful. Incredibly healing.
Then, a chance for them to take baby steps forward.
Whom do they know that could help them break down the armor?
How might they invite that person to hold space with them?
What might they specifically want or need from that person?
We might even imagine that we have that person
back for just one more day. What is that day
going to look like, sound like, feel like?
And why is it important to not bottle up
these important feelings and emotions?
Check out these other therapeutic resources
that they can use to lean into the pain
as they walk the grief path?
There you have it; if it's not already there,
add The Heart And The Bottle to your shelves.
Then head to Susanna Hill's blog to check out
What a beautiful and powerful message. I am going to have to get a copy of this book. It can be used in so many ways. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHad my second COVID vaccine this week. Another step towards normalcy!
I love this book, and I love how you wrote your review of it as if your words were being held inside of a container. Nice.
ReplyDeleteAlso on my list of favorites to share about grief.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful book about grief. I think I need to read this one just for me! Thank you.
ReplyDelete