Review by Booklist Review
Featuring the last manuscript by writer-illustrator Tomie dePaola, who died in 2020, this moving picture book focuses on his dog, Brontë, the happy years they spent together, and how the artist dealt with losing his beloved companion. The text is simply written and meaningful for young and old alike. DePaola's first-person narrative begins as he recalls meeting Brontë, a puppy, and taking him home. He takes a dog bed and canine toys to his studio, where Brontë keeps him company while he works. Often, they enjoy walks together. After Brontë leaves (the words death, died, and mourning are avoided), the artist's thoughts are sometimes sad, but walking outdoors one day, he feels that Brontë is still within him and knows that he always will be. After Brontë has left, the question in the title becomes a refrain within the narrative. The story has elements of joy as well as sorrow and offers an alternate way for children to view the loss of people or pets who are dear to them. Created with pens, colored pencils, watercolor, and gouache, the lively illustrations will captivate viewers with their curving lines, pleasing colors, and decorative patterns. A heartening, memorable celebration of dePaola and Brontë's friendship.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a wordless introductory sequence to this story rooted in memory, late Caldecott and Newbery Honoree dePaola, portrayed with red-rimmed spectacles, beholds in billowing clouds the form of his terrier Brontë. Indoors, he looks down at an empty dog bed, made more poignant by the presence of balls and toys. Reminiscing text that begins "Where Are You, Brontë?" first recalls the young dog's arrival: "You flew to me on an airplane from Chicago." When Brontë whimpers in his crate, he's invited onto dePaola's bed... "for the next twelve and a half years." Melding her distinctive clear-line style with dePaola's own, McClintock (Tomfoolery!) captures Brontë's beguiling antics as a young pup, and later, as an older dog adapting to blindness ("You were able to find all three of your beds"). After the dog's death, dePaola is shown drawing the dog's portrait and fitting it inside a frame with a smile--"still with me, in my heart forever." Alongside images that cleverly summon beats from dePaola's works, simple words about difficult emotions offer layers of comfort for readers wondering about the whereabouts of a late loved one. It's a moving ode to Brontë and to dePaola--the creator who loved him. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An illustrator's note concludes. Ages 4--8. (May)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--In sequences of sensitive pairings, McClintock does full justice to the late dePaola's last completed manuscript--a poignant ode to his Airedale terrier Brontë--with scenes of a cotton-bearded old man and his woolly, flop-eared comrade sharing 12-plus years of affectionate companionship. With the titular question floating overhead (and answered in the end), the author recalls special moments and memories from first meeting on, pausing to marvel at how even favorite dog toys were loved but never destroyed, and how Brontë could find the water dish and all three beds even after going blind. "The day you left me, I knew I would miss you," he writes. "But then I knew you were right here, still with me, in my heart forever." In her warm afterword, the veteran illustrator articulates the challenge of evoking dePaola's gift for "speaking volumes through simplicity" into art that still reflects her own distinctive sensibility. Her success is easily measured in vivid depictions of the pooch passing from frisky pup to old dog over the years, and in the intensity of feeling that shines out of every scene, right up to final views (one drawn, one a photograph) of the smiling pair in heart-shaped frames. VERDICT For all collections, this is a fond twin memorial both to a dog and to a beloved writer and artist.--John Edward Peters
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
For this posthumously published work, dePaola draws one final time upon close personal experience to pen a picture book, this one an ode to his beloved dog Brontë. Speaking in the first person, dePaola walks readers through the early days of Brontë's life, from the moment he picked the pooch up at the airport to the pink collar the dog wore. As Brontë ages, he loses his sight but remains loving. And when the dog does at last die, dePaola moves through his grief, eventually finding comfort in the knowledge that "I knew you were right there, still with me, in my heart forever." The story evokes other tender tales by dePaola, also inspired by moments in his life. Meanwhile, images throughout the book are peppered with references to dePaola's books, like a spaghetti dinner attended by a guest reminiscent of the protagonist of the Caldecott Honor--winningStrega Nona. Tasked with illustrating the title after dePaola's passing, McClintock pays tribute to his art while also managing to retain her own particular style. The love between man and dog is palpable in every spread. And while the book will speak to children who have said goodbye to pets of their own, it will also aid readers in grieving for the author himself. A gentle delight, simultaneously honoring both the dog dePaola lost and the artist we lost in turn.(Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
