Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

 

Imagine turning the page to a gigantic dog face covering the pages midway through a book. The little yellow thing in the bottom right is a youngster who has more gumption than the family members hiding out in the house. While quite respectful, fear doesn't seem to be a interrupting factor for this young person's way of being. Rather Small (well-named, don't you think?) wants to greet the family's fears by going out into and standing with this large, cumbersome, nosey pup. Some real raucous events happen after Small and the Black Dog meet up on that snowy day.

I love this book for its storyline that includes fear, twisty life changes, and winter, all metaphors I totally am grappling with in my professional life. I love the illustrations which simply make me return to certain pages again and again. I love how accessible this book is....in fact, a kindergarten-teaching friend of mine read this through once and then reread it, as simply a picture walk. Let's just say she couldn't stop talking about what she noticed.

Oh, did I tell you the last name of the family is Hope? Ahem. Got your coat yet? Or your laptop/ipod/ipad with an order in? 

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold. Nothing to fear here.