Remembering Barkley

K-Gr 2--Bear, a loyal black dog, and his owner Jacob, a white boy, mourn Barkley, the second dog in their home. From Bear's point of view, Barkley just doesn't come home one day, and the loss is never defined or explained. As narrator, Bear acts as a stand-in for readers, but Bear muddles through with no guidance, adults, understanding, or ritual to help with healing. "'Bring the ball back, Bear. Bring it back!'/ Jacob's face was the color of my leash, "'Bring HIM back!' he hollered as he came toward me." When Jacob breaks down and cries after yelling, Bear thinks the boy is raining, which, while a deft representation of what this dog might think, is confusing rather than clarifying, since Jacob's outburst isn't explained. The book includes "Talking About Grief," a section with information for caregivers to use with young children; however, the text itself is only marginally useful in this regard since it doesn't model the stated key concepts such as "being truthful, keeping explanations simple, sharing facts in an age-appropriate way, and reminding children that the loss of death they experienced was not their fault and they did not cause it." Yang's bright digital illustrations portray the characters' feelings through body language and facial expression but don't make the book more accessible to young readers. VERDICT Older readers who are grieving may find peace in this measured, poetic title, but a better choice of bibliotherapy for younger children is Robie H. Harris's Goodbye Mousie.--Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Lib., MN

A black Lab copes with the loss of a canine best friend. Bear narrates in the first person, directing remarks to the presumably deceased Barkley, who "didn't come back today." Bear's sadness is clear in both body language and text, and so is Jacob's, the dogs' human, an elementary-age White child in a puffy purple coat. Bear and Jacob walk along an obviously familiar route. When Jacob tosses "our ball" into the lake, Bear just watches as it bobs away. Bear tries to find Barkley under Barkley's favorite tree, commenting as Jacob looks up at the autumnal foliage and the sky beyond, "I hadn't thought to look for you up there"--the story's only (and very oblique) reference to a possible heavenly afterlife. Months pass, and grief still weighs down both Jacob and Bear till one day Bear carries a ball to Barkley's tree, triggering first anger in Jacob and then an outpouring: "Jacob was raining!" The two friends keep returning to Barkley's tree, where "some days Jacob rained" but eventually he laughs. This highly understated tale offers lots of openings for conversations, and an afterword about discussing grief with children should help caregivers navigate them. Yang's pastel-hued illustrations depict a suburban North American landscape, tranquil compositions allowing the text to do its work. Bear's size relative to Jacob is inconsistent, a mild distraction for children wondering whether Bear is a puppy or not. A useful book for children processing grief. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.