★★★★★
“We could try and stop it,” Ely suggests. “Then I won’t have to leave so soon.”
Ely and Max are best friends.
But Ely is sick. Like confined to a wheelchair sick. The kind of sick where playing is sometimes hard to do and Ely feels tired all the time.
But Max and Ely don’t let that stop them from having fun and going on (limited) adventures.
But then they find out that with every passing night, Ely is one night closer to going back to the hospital.
So Max comes up with a plan.
“We want to have a word with you!” Max shouts at the moon. “Face-to-face, man-to-Man in the Moon. We need you to stay where you are!”
He will stop the moon so his friend doesn’t have to go back to the hospital.
So, just as a fair warning to all the parents out there – this book was designed to help children with grief. Specifically, the grief of losing a friend their own age.
It’s one of those books that you wish didn’t have to exist but it does a lot of good by being out there and helping children during a time where the world seems scary and hopeless.
There’s already a handful of books out there about death of a parent, death of a family member, etc. But there aren’t as many children’s books about the death of a young friend.
And considering in the United States, approximately 1 in 285 children are diagnosed with cancer before they turn 20, this is a book that is necessary.
It is heartbreaking and heart-wrenching but it ends with an uplifting moment.
And I feel like it deals with death and grief in an incredibly age-appropriate manner. The illustrations are gorgeous and truly provide a beautiful setting.
It is an emotional book but also a truly good one.
a huge thank you to Familius Publishing, Stephen Wunderli and Maria Luisa Di Gravio for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Interested in this one from Stephen Wunderli and Maria Luisa Di Gravio? Buy it here: Amazon
Miranda Reads 