On the day of his mother's funeral, a boy is visited by a huge, comforting gorilla, who stays with him and answers his questions.

Why did mom have to die?
Can't she come back?
Where did she go?

Eventually the gorilla helps the boy to find ways to feel close to his mom, like baking her favourite cookies or playing baseball or gardening and picking the flowers she planted. When the boy sees dad with his head in his hands, he brings him one of mom's flowers and tells dad that he misses her. Dad misses her too, and they comfort each other while the gorilla walks away, job done.

Heartbreaking and beautiful exploration of death and grief.

On the day of his mother’s funeral, a young boy conjures the very visitor he needs to see: a gorilla. Wise and gentle, the gorilla stays on to answer the heart-heavy questions the boy hesitates to ask his father

Where did his mother go?

Will she come back home?

Will we all die?

Most of all, the gorilla knows that it helps to simply talk about the loss—especially with those who share your grief and who may feel alone, too.

Thank you Goodreads and Candlewick Press for a chance to read The Boy and the Gorilla by Jackie Azúa Kramer and illustrator Cindy Derby!

I entered this giveaway because my son saw it and asked me to try and win it. This is beautiful sad story about a boy who loses his mother. The illustration is this book is just absolutely beautiful. After reading it I went back just so I could look at the pictures more closely. It was a sad book and hopefully about a position I hope to never have to be put in. But it still was a very wonderful read. Happy reading everyone!!

A heartbreakingly sad book about grief for children. Hope it's never needed, but it will be an important tool when it is.

A boy deals with the death of his mother. (I was surprised this came from an American author, as I'm used to most picture books about human death coming from other countries.)

Wow!

Wow. A beautiful, touching, frank, honest discussion between a bereft boy and a gorilla about the death of the boy's mother. Well done. The artwork is gorgeous too.

Oof. A heart-crusher, but in a good way.

Reading it with tears in my eyes. Our toddler loves the illustrations of the gorilla, they’re very beautiful, but I can’t read the text to him because I get choked up.

After the death of his mother a young boy is visited by an imaginary gorilla that lets him talk through his grief and then reach out to his father.

This struck just the right tone for me, quietly thoughtful.