by Sam Juliano
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Aside from a tragic passing there can be no more traumatic event in a young person’s life than the heartbreak caused by relocation. While the emotional sting of separation almost always represents a temporary setback -there are after all new relationships to be made- it nonetheless provokes despair and desolation. The way to combat this time of emotional upheaval is often the same way people deal with other unexpected or unwelcome happenings – to be creative, to remember and honor all the wonderful times shared, in short to work diligently to keep the friendship alive by maintaining communication. Jessixa Bagley’s Before I Leave initially presents this wrenching theme as a fearful proposition, one fraught with skepticism that even positive energy may be unable to dim. Bagley came to the project with big shoes to fill, as the book represents the follow up her debut Boats For Papa, a rapturous and deeply moving masterpiece about love and loss that was said to be a likely Caldecott Medal or Honor nominee in the hugely competitive 2015 calendar year. Yet the talented author-illustrator from the Pacific Northwest refused to lighten up, and came back with another provocative, poignant and melancholic theme, one as universal and topical as her prior work. (more…)
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
