Saturday, March 5, 2011

Pearl Versus the World

Pearl tells a heartbreaking but simple story that explores the sensitive issues of dementia, grief, loss and loneliness from the viewpoint of a young girl. A girl that does not fit into the world that she is part of. A girl that does not rhyme with the world around her. A girl that loves her grandmother who taught her “sometimes a poem needs no rhyme to be just right. Sometimes a poem just is”.

That is Pearl, she just is. She is just a little girl facing heartbreak for the first time, she is just a little girl looking for her place, she is just a little girl looking for her +1. She is just a little girl.

Being a children’s book, this happy-sad story might be too much for the 8 – 12 age group that it is designed for. Quite sad in most parts with a nice ending that will leave a wide opening for conversations with your children about the difficulties of loss and growing up.

Pearl is an enduring character that will stay with you, she is a survivor, a young girl who has faced more sadness and loneliness than she should have, a girl that will one day find her way, but first she has to find her new place, a place for just two - with her granny watching over.

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