Content warning: death of a pet.
A simple but thoughtfully done book about coping with grief after the death of a pet.
Shay and their dog Fluffy are best friends. Throughout the first half of this picture book, we see the two of them doing everything together, from playing games to brushing their teeth, and comforting the other when one of them is scared. Shay wants them to be together forever.
As Fluffy gets older, however, we see her slowing down, until one day, after a visit to the vet, Shay’s mom says that Fluffy is sick and they need to say goodbye.
Shay is upset and wants to run away so they can stay together, but Fluffy tells them with a look that that will not work. Instead of saying goodbye, though, Shay reflects on all the fun they’ve had.
We don’t see Fluffy actually die—a good call for a book aimed at young readers—but the next day, Shay wakes up and Fluffy isn’t there. Shay is “heartbroken.”
Shay’s mom reminds them that “love stays with you forever.” Shay keeps Fluffy’s favorite toy and uses it to remember the fun times they used to have together. They also dream that Fluffy is floating among the stars, with other dog friends, and the planets give her belly rubs. “It made Shay feel good to know that Fluffy was safe and happy,” and Shay remembers Fluffy and her friends every time they look up at the stars.
This a lovely, age-appropriate book about grief, loss, and finding comfort in memories. Shay’s sadness is shown directly, and Shay’s mom doesn’t try to distract them or cheer them up, but offers support with a reminder of Fluffy’s love.
Author T’áncháy Redvers notably avoids using the name “heaven” for the place where Shay imagines Fluffy to be, allowing room for various traditions here. Families who do not believe in any kind of afterlife may still feel that that part of the story doesn’t quite resonate, but Redvers does frame Fluffy’s place in the stars as part of Shay’s dream, and not necessarily how things actually are. Readers and their adults can decide if the telling works for them. If it does, they will likely find much value in the straightforward but sympathetic tale with its useful modeling of how to go on when someone we love has died.
The story also refreshingly has a nonbinary protagonist without being “about” nonbinary identities. Not that books “about” being nonbinary are unimportant, but not every story of a nonbinary person has to focus on that aspect of their selves and lives.
Shay’s racial/ethnic identity is never mentioned, but Redvers is a Dene and Métis two-spirit writer, advocate, and performer, and Shay could certainly be read as indigenous as well, so I am tagging this book as such, though Shay’s medium brown skin and hair could be reflective of various identities. The message is universal even as the book offers important representation.
