*Starred Review* PreS-Gr. 2. A girl cares tenderly for her old dog, Lulu, whose vision, hearing, and general health are declining. Though she wishes that they could play together as they used to, she knows that her dog will not get well. Lulu dies and is buried in the backyard, but it takes some months before the girl can say good-bye. As the story ends, she meets her new puppy and finds that her heart has room for Lulu and her new dog too. This first-person narrative relates events and expresses the girl's feelings in a matter-of-fact yet affecting way." Among the book's many strengths is the way Demas uses sensory details to bring the story to life: the child doesn't just miss Lulu--she misses the thump of her tail and the softness of her fur. Hoyt's expressive illustrations, ink-and-coloured-pencil drawings washed with watercolours, reflect the tone of the text and show the child's sadness without sentimentality. In one particularly effective spread, the girl sits alone on her school bus, isolated in her stillness from the other children. A sensitive, hopeful portrayal. Carolyn Phelan
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