The Heart and the Bottle (Read aloud by Helena Bonham Carter)
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5.0 • 8 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
This is a read-along edition with audio synced to the text, performed by Helena Bonham Carter.
Award-winning picture book star Oliver Jeffers explores themes of love and loss in this life-affirming and uplifting tale.
Once there was a girl who was full of wonderment at how the world worked. She shared all her dreams and excitement with her father, who always had the answer to every question. That is until one day when his chair was empty, not to be filled again – how would the girl ever find meaning from her life again?
Reviews
Praise for The Heart and the Bottle:
“Beautifully produced and profoundly moving… It made me cry, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be the only one.” The Irish Times
“Jeffers anatomises loss and the processes of grief with an honesty and ingenuity that will move adults and children of any age.” Telegraph
Praise for Oliver Jeffers:
“Oliver Jeffers makes impressive use of space in this affecting story of friendship … illustrations capture feelings of loss and loneliness through the most delicate nuances of facial expression … and body language.” Julia Eccleshare, The Guardian
“Hail to new talent … If only all picture books could be this good.” The Bookseller
About the author
Oliver Jeffers graduated from The University of Ulster in 2001 with First Class honours. His outstanding talent has been recognised by several high-profile awards, including the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize Gold Award. ‘Lost and Found’ animation was broadcast on Channel 4. Oliver lives and works in Brookyln, New York.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When a small girl loses her father, her only parent (Jeffers represents the loss with the father's empty chair in a moonlit room), she decides the best thing is to put her heart in a bottle and hang it around her neck. All the bubbly curiosity that had made her sparkle disappears, but at least her heart was safe. Not until the girl, now considerably older, meets someone smaller and still curious about the world is her heart restored to her. Jeffers's (The Great Paper Caper) artwork is the sweetness in this bittersweet story. Conversations between the girl and her father appear as balloons with images in them instead of words; his answers to her enthusiastic questions about the world are expressed in scientific prints and diagrams. In the final spread, as she sits reading in her father's chair, a thought balloon exploding with childlike and cerebral images alike makes it clear that she is once again at peace. While the subject of loss always has the potential to unsettle young readers, most should find this quietly powerful treatment of grief moving. Ages 4 up.
