Remembering Mrs. Rossi

Publishers Weekly

When eight-year-old Annie's mother, a sixth-grade teacher, contracts pneumonia, "nobody, absolutely nobody" expected her to die. But she does. Hest's (The Purple Coat) moving novel balances humor with poignant moments, such as Annie's feeling that her mother will be home waiting for her ("She's reading on the couch in her fuzzy blue robe as usual, eating coffee ice cream on the couch as usual"), only to be struck anew with the realization she is gone. The girl shares her regrets, recalling mean things she said to her mother and wishing, as the snow falls, that she could make a snowman with her ("Just one more time"). Her kind father can't completely fill the space; he neglects to remind his daughter to wear warm socks on a cold night and goes to work on her snow day from school instead of playing in the park with her ("He doesn't know the rules"). In one heartrending scene, Annie confides to her father that she fears she forgot to tell her mother she loved her and that she worries, "What if I stop remembering Mommy?" But the compendium of reminiscences (which gives this book its title) put together by Mrs. Rossi's class helps Annie and her father remember (it's reproduced at novel's end). Annie reads the entries over and over, "Page after page, like so many secret little visits with her mother." Readers of this fine novel will find the spirited, resilient Annie another character—just like her mother—well worth remembering. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Children's Literature - Valerie O. Patterson

Eight-year-old Annie Rossi's mother dies unexpectedly soon after the school year starts. Mrs. Rossi's fifth grade class in Room 222 presents a book the students have made of their memories of Mrs. Rossi to Annie and her father. Annie and her father read Remembering Mrs. Rossi through to the end and go back to page one again. The author deftly captures the subtle—and not so subtle—range of emotions that a young child and her professor father go through in learning to live without Mrs. Rossi. Every aspect of life after loss is covered, from the simple things like handling a snow day, to celebrating her father's birthday, to coping with fears Annie will forget her mother, or that she did not say "I love you" enough. An excellent book to put into the hands of someone who has lost a parent or close friend or knows someone who has. The pen-and-ink illustrations ably mirror the emotions of the text. Included at the end is the "book" that Mrs. Rossi's students wrote about her and presented to Annie and her father, the book that they reread and enjoy seeing how Mrs. Rossi's students felt about her and miss her as well. A comforting tale of loss and the power of memory by a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award-winning author of In the Rain with Baby Duck.

School Library Journal

Gr 3–5
After her mother dies, eight-year-old Annie Rossi does her best to cope, assisted by Remembering Mrs. Rossi , a book of memories compiled by her mother's sixth-grade students. During the difficult year that follows, her dad forgets to buy her brand of cereal, doesn't remind her to wear her boots, mismatches her pajamas, and doesn't understand that they should be the first to make footprints in the snow. Annie's patterns of belonging have been disrupted, but as she and her father search for ways to "keep Mommy close…and let her go…and keep her close again," they take comfort from the sixth graders' book, share memories with one another, and begin to forge new rituals. Hest avoids delving into grief, focusing instead on Annie's frustrations with changes at home, at school, and in their summer beach community. Maione's soft pencil drawings capture the child's emotions. Readers will recognize their own feelings of frustration and confusion in the protagonist and admire her attempts to convince her father to get a dog. The book by Mrs. Rossi's students is reproduced at the end of the story. Although some of the entries seem naive for sixth graders, this feature gives readers an opportunity to share their memories of their teacher. This gentle story that captures one third grader's year reinforces the power of journaling in navigating through life's changes.
—Linda Ward-CallaghanCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Eight-year-old Annie is devastated by the sudden death of her mother. She and her father try to get through the days and weeks and months without her, groping their way through birthdays, vacations and school. Mr. Rossi is perhaps as bewildered as Annie by their loss, but keeps up a brave front and a loving, honest relationship with Annie. Annie treasures a memory book created by Mrs. Rossi's elementary-school students, reading and rereading it as a means of keeping her mother close. Hest handles a delicate subject with compassion and understanding, without descending into maudlin emotion. Annie's reactions are perfectly in keeping with her age, and she is never presented as an example of the proper way to mourn. The "actual" memory book that has brought Annie and her father so much comfort follows the conclusion of the story. It allows the reader an additional glimpse into Mrs. Rossi's character and the grief felt by her family and students. Maione's ink-and-black watercolors delicately illustrate some of the key events in Annie's most difficult year. A tender treatment of loss and recovery. (Fiction. 8-12)

Children's Literature - Jody Little

When her mother was alive, Annie Rossi's life was filled with stories, walks, and summers at the sea. But since her mother died unexpectedly, eight-year—old Annie's world does not feel the same. Annie loves her father, but he doesn't take her on walks, play with her in the snow, or spend enough time with her. To Annie, her father spends way too much time thinking about his classes at Columbia University. She misses her mother. Throughout the first year after her loss, Annie experiences disappointments at home and school, but she takes comfort in a book that her mother's students made for Annie and her father after her death. The book includes poems and stories about the students'experiences with Annie's mother, and the passages are included at the end of the book. Throughout the story, Annie's emotions are spot-on for a girl her age. Readers will empathize with her struggles to live without her mother. Reviewer: Jody Little