The Dandelion's Tale
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this poignant story about the friendship between a dandelion and a sparrow, young readers are given a reassuring, yet emotionally powerful introduction to the natural cycle of life. One fine summer day, when Sparrow meets a dandelion with only 10 seed pods left, he asks how he can help. Dandelion laments that a short while ago, she was the brightest yellow, but now a strong wind could blow away her remaining pods and no one will remember her. Together, they decide to write Dandelion's story in the dirt, and so Dandelion tells Sparrow all the things she has seen and loved. Later that night, a storm changes everything. . . . But the tale of Dandelion lives on.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The character who dies in newcomer Sheehan's story is a lowly dandelion, but doesn't make her demise any easier to take. The dandelion, once golden, has just 10 white hairs left, and her last wish is to be remembered. A friendly sparrow spends hours scratching down her stories in the dirt: "She spoke of milkweed and hummingbirds; of dancing butterflies and picnicking families; of busy ants and busier bees." A storm ends the dandelion's life and washes away the stories, but Sparrow remembers them. When the bird discovers a new patch of 10 dandelions, he can tell them about their mother. Dunlavey, also making his debut, contributes softly brushed illustrations in watercolor, crayon, pencil, and other media that mix two equally handsome visual vocabularies. The world of Sparrow and the dandelion appears in objective greens and browns, while the dandelion's past life is rendered in sun-bleached golds, limes, and pinks, faded brilliance just right for cherished memories. The focus on death and commemoration makes this the kind of fable that may find the warmest reception among adults. Ages 3 7.
