  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 02/01/2019 PreS-Gr 2—This message of this quiet book should be shouted from the rooftops. The theme is elusive at first as are the soft, somewhat tentative pictures. The story begins with a heart in a garden waiting to be nurtured by a little girl. The poetic text describes the heart in a number of unexpected ways. It's a window that can be opened or closed and sometimes it is a puddle or a stain. These metaphorical descriptions move children away from the anatomical and utile aspects of the heart (the pumper of blood with chambers and ventricles, etc.) and offers the idea of the heart as a reflection of the child in the world. The final words carry a lot of power: "I get to decide." The illustrations are crafted with water-based inks and pencils and predominantly feature gray and yellow, dark and light. Throughout, the unifying visual element is a yellow heart in a variety of forms. This can be read to the very youngest of listeners, but even upper elementary children would benefit tremendously from the ideas in this book. Educators can also use this work to show students the different meanings for a single word and the artistic use of metaphor in writing. VERDICT This must-buy for librarians and teachers has myriad educational uses; it begs to be read aloud, and it is a masterful blending of text and illustration.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 03/01/2019 Gray, white, and sunny yellow mark the illustrations of this quiet and charming book. Heart shapes abound throughout, adding an entertaining seek-and-find element: dark clouds, pieces of the leaded-glass windows, a fence, and a giant slide and its shadow all form the shape of heart. In rhyming verse, a young girl tells of how her heart can be open wide and accepting, while, at other times, it is broken and shuttered from everything: “Some days it’s a puddle. / Some days it’s a stain. / Some days it is cloudy / and heavy with rain.” Both the cover and one inside illustration show her planting a heart-shaped seed that, when well tended, can grow large and full, blossoming in heart-shaped flowers. It is up to her how she feels, and whether to keep her heart closed or to open it up to possibilities. Though it leans more toward an adult sensibility, this title offers an opportunity for a heart-to-heart discussion with children about emotions. - Copyright 2019 Booklist. Loading...
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