Review - Cry, Heart, But Never Break

Cry, Heart, But Never Break
by Glenn Ringtved
illustrated by Charlotte Pardi
Date: 2001
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: hardcover
Source: library

Aware their grandmother is gravely ill, four siblings make a pact to keep death from taking her away. But Death does arrive all the same, as it must. He comes gently, naturally. And he comes with enough time to share a story with the children that helps them to realize the value of loss to life and the importance of being able to say goodbye.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a picture book about death. Actually, it's about Death, the personified concept. He comes to take the children's grandmother away. They try to stall him, but he has a job to do. So he tells them a story that helps them understand why he must do what he must do.

I like the concept and the story itself. This is a topic that doesn't seem to be very popular in picture books, even though it's something that many children will have to deal with. However, there's one aspect of this book that prevents me from giving it a higher rating: the children are left all alone. Yes, their grandmother appears to be their primary caregiver, and then she dies. That idea is scary enough, but it could be downright terrifying for young children. I was distracted by the question of what would happen to these kids the whole time I was reading. The subject is actually never addressed, and I can't help but think that the children's fate is going to weigh heavily on the minds of some readers.

The author apparently wrote this for his kids when his own mother was dying. I wish he had used that same scenario (dying grandma, very-much-alive parents) for this story; it would've made it more reassuring and less frighteningly uncertain.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.17 out of 5