ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PICTURE BOOKS
Welsh, Clare Helen

The Perfect Shelter

32 pp. | Kane Miller | September, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-68464-050-8 $14.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Åsa Gilland. A young girl narrates this touching story about her older sister's illness. "At first nobody knew." The sisters love ­building shelters in the woods from sticks, but sometimes the sister gets tired. She always seems to regain her strength, though, and during those periods the girls resume their play, constructing their forest shelter higher and higher and fortifying it to withstand any storm. On the night the narrator learns that her sister is sick, "a river of rain fell from the sky," destroying the shelter. The weather mirrors the girl's feelings; storms and precipitation coincide with fear, sadness, and anger, while wind kicks up when things feel unsettled. In the hospital, after the sister is feeling better, the siblings build a shelter with sheets, a broom, and bedding, and the girls eagerly look forward to resuming their normal play. Illustrations feature a lush, wild landscape full of plants, flowers, and leafy foliage and a close-knit biracial family. Medical equipment and other hospital indicators are rendered faintly so as to recede into the background, allowing the girls' play and relationship to take precedence. This reassuring work provides comfort to young children struggling to understand a serious illness, and is a testament that the close bonds between siblings can withstand even the worst storms.
Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

RELATED 

PICTURE BOOKS

Born Ready
by Patterson, Jodie
PICTURE BOOKS

The House of Grass and Sky
by Ray, Mary Lyn
PICTURE BOOKS

The Dog's Gardener
by Storms, Patricia
PICTURE BOOKS

And I Paint It
by Kephart, Beth
PICTURE BOOKS

Poem in My Pocket
by Tougas, Chris
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?