Sophie

As Sophie grows bigger and her grandfather gets smaller, they continue to love each other very much.

Sophie loves her Grandpa. And her Grandpa loves Sophie. They are best friends. And then one day there is no Grandpa. . . . Family love and the natural cycle of birth, life, and death are tenderly portrayed in this moving story. “Fox’s spare text distills complex life passages into emotions so clear even a child can understand and perhaps draw comfort from them.”—Booklist

Publishers Weekly

In this cyclical tale, Grandpa welcomes infant Sophie into the world; much later, Sophie is saddened when ``there was no Grandpa.'' The birth of Sophie's own child completes the circle. Fox's (Time for Bed) rhythmic, sparsely worded text (``Grandpa grew older and slower and smaller'') captures the deep love between Sophie and Grandpa, a bond emphasized in the artwork by the presence of oversized hands clasped in friendship. Sophie's development (``Sophie grew and grew and grew'') is contrasted with Grandpa's decline into ``little Grandpa,'' and Sophie begins to care for him as he once looked after her. Robinson (Elijah's Angel) paints in an almost aggressively naive style, playing fast and loose with perspective and line. Occasionally her efforts fall flat, but more often her compositions offer up a wealth of verve and emotion. This engaging picture book is eloquent in its simplicity, and its raw, densely peopled artwork saves it from sentimentality. Ages 3-8. (Oct.)

MEM FOX is the author of many acclaimed books, including Possum Magic, Koala Lou, Time for Bed, and, for adults, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. She lives in Adelaide, Australia.