Saturday, August 10, 2013

A Year With Marmalade; Alison Reynolds and Heath McKenzie (illustrator)

Little Simon / Simon & Schuster Kids - 2013

A Year With Marmalade is a sweet kids book about friendship. Ella and Maddy are best friends, but one day Maddy announces that she has to go away for a year and asks Ella to take care of Marmalade, her cat. Ella is very very sad, and at first Ella and Marmalade both seem in a funk about the change that has taken place since Maddy has gone away.

As the seasons change, so does Ella and Marmalade's relationship. In fall and winter he warms her feet as she reads by the fire and keeps her warm at night in bed.  In summer Marmalade keeps her clothes safe at the beach, by sleeping on them while she swims. He is her bike basket companion as well and much much more.

Told over that one year period that Maddy is gone, as the seasons change and new things happen, A Year With Marmalade, is wonderful story about life's changes, friendship, and the power of pets to transform our lives.

I loved this sweet story and the ending is perfect as well.  The illustrations are not overdone and actually use minimal colors, yet to study the drawings on each page you will notice how expressive and well-thought out that the drawings are....perfect really.


Anyone who has had a best friend go away will relate to this book, but even if you haven't I am sure you and your little ones will love this book.  It's going to be a favorite kids book of 2013 I think.

Buy it! 5/5 stars

4 comments:

  1. This seems like a very sweet book.

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  2. This sounds good and the illustrations look gorgeous!

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  3. This looks and sounds very lovely. Terrific review, Diane!

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  4. That does sound nice and children going through that could really learn from it.

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