"A beautifully told story of understanding and connection"
November 2023 Book of the Month
Little Finn is in a horrible mood, curled up under a quilt and refusing to come out. Grandpa wants to help but, ‘You won’t understand’, says Finn. But he does agree to go for a walk, albeit still hidden under the quilt. Don’t worry says Grandpa, ‘I’ll remember to think about what’s beneath.’
He uses their walk to demonstrate that beneath what looks still, there’s lots swirling below that you might not be able to see. The illustrations provide cross-sections to allow readers the ability to see ‘beneath’ and in an extremely moving scene, we see that both Finn’s and Grandpa’s hearts are broken.
The opening scenes have given us clues to what’s happened. Now Finn takes over, wrapping Grandpa in the quilt and starting their process of healing. This walk in the woods is a tender depiction of grief, understanding and recovery, the presentation opening it up to even the very youngest, Cori Doeffeld’s warm illustrations and subtle text conveying the message perfectly.
Finn is in a horrible mood and doesn't want to talk about it. After some persuading, though, they agree to go for a hike with Grandpa. Throughout their forest walk, they see many different things: big, strong trees with networks of roots growing underneath, still water with schools of fish swimming below, and an expectant bird with eggs nestled under her. It's when the pair pass fellow hikers that Finn realizes that people, just like the elements of nature, are more than they appear. Grandpa explains that sometimes beneath a person who seems like they won't understand what you're feeling, is someone feeling the exact same way. This sweet and tender picture book celebrates our similarities, differences, and that there's always more under the surface of what we can see.
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Finn is in a horrible mood and doesn't want to talk about it. After some persuading, though, they agree to go for a hike with Grandpa.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Beneath and determined it is suitable for children aged 3-6 years old
Beneath features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Featured Books for 3+ readers, PSHE: Bereavement and Grief, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Star Books, Stories about Family and Friends, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Featured Books for 5+ readers
Paperback, Hardback. Not Available.
Beneath was written by Cori Doerrfeld and published by Little, Brown Young Readers an imprint of Little, Brown
Beneath has 40 pages
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