Cynthia Rylant feels like a hidden gem. This book won a Newberry medal and I now know why, and I never would have discovered it if it weren’t for the children’s picture book on Ecclesiastes I picked up from the library.  I’m sure a middle grade student could pick up this book and get through it, especially if they are battling grief and loss in their own lives. The writing was simple and approachable, but the depth of the dialogue on grief was so significant and beautiful that it left me, a 25 year old adult, emotional and so thankful for life. It reminds me of the Little Prince or A Wrinkle in Time in the sense that you either need to be young enough to just enjoy the the plot and not think too hard about the symbolism, or you have to be an adult to dully understand and appreciate all that is being done. At least when I was a kid, I wouldn’t have appreciated this story, like I know I didn’t appreciate The Little Prince.