Away

 “With intricate images to pore over, this enchanting and original title is ideal for one-on-one sharing and the perfect antidote for children dreading their first overnight trip. Superb.”

Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal, Starred Review

“Sher manages to capture the familiar anxiety of a first-time camper as…these succinct but affecting messages move steadily from unease to confidence…Leng’s breathy illustrations exude the easy energy of the characters while bringing their deceptively simple notes to full emotional life.”

Kirkus, Starred Review

 

A young girl is about to experience her first trip away from her mother, not to mention Lester, her beloved cat.  The daughter expresses her fears, her mother offers words of comfort but they never have a heart-to-heart conversation: all their thoughts are shared through sticky notes.  Add a grandmother who changes the course of her granddaughter’s path toward a first taste of independence and you have a book that weaves “a ‘give and take’ fabric of love, acceptance, risk taking, leaving and personal growth.” *

 Away is beautifully illustrated by Qin Leng.  And although you can’t see it, the hand of editor-publisher Sheila Barry is behind every page.