Love is Forever - a book review

Quote of the day:

"If tears could build a stairway,

And memories a lane,

I'd walk right up to Heaven

And bring you home again."

                     -anonymous

Featured book of the day:

Title:  Love is Forever

Author:  Casey Rislov

Illustrator:  Rachael Balsaitis

Let's take a peek inside shall we?

About the book:

This tender story with its beautiful illustrations is the story of Little Owl and the loss of her beloved Grandfather.  Finding it hard to understand and cope with such a huge part of her heart gone, her family gathers around her and tries to explain the reality of a death of a loved one.  In so doing, the wise owl family also imparts wisdom and truth to the reader who may be going through a similar scenario in his life.  In her grief, Little Owl learns a tender lesson of personal loss and how that bond of love can carry on through happy memories, fun activities and family traditions that were shared together in their lives.  

The author, with compassion and insight, explains in words that a child will understand, her unbearable loss: love is wider than the mountains, deeper than the sea, brighter than the brightest light.   

The illustrations are soft and warm and as you engage in them you feel like you are being hugged.  They enhance the text and the message of the book perfectly.  They are bittersweet as they paint a picture of not only the deep sorrow of losing someone but also the jubilant joy in remembering the good times that were shared.   

A wonderful add-on at the end of book is where the author shares advice from professionals on how to cope with a grief and how a child might react in such a situation.  She shares websites and books that would be helpful and healing for such a time.  Although the subject is one that most families do not want to face, necessity may take them there.  This book will be very beneficial as it will give insight as to how to work through such a painful time and bring hope, as Little Owl (and the reader) discover that that special person, who is now no more with them on this earth, will live on in their hearts forever.  

About the author:

My passion has always been with children. It started at an early age and has brought me much fulfillment. In my early teenage years, I began teaching swimming lessons. During my late college years, I moved onto assistant coaching in both swimming and downhill skiing and then eventually into the classroom (both elementary and preschool). Each area has taught me new lessons, but I found a renewed sense of love for children’s books once I entered the classroom, especially the preschool setting. I found that reading and sharing books with the children around me built a spark that has been ignited for years, writing my own ideas for books by the bedside lamp. This past year has finally led me to actually pursuing my dream and actually taking the step to see where this new found hobby takes me. I feel my family and friends, my career choices and where I live (Casper, WY) have impacted who I am today and my dreams I am trying to live out.

Casey’s Author Website: http://caseyrislovbooks.com/

About the illustrator:

Narratives, I find, are at the core of what drives us as human beings. In how our bodies sashay or lumber across the environment. In the way we let words glide smoothly or fall half-assed from our tongues. In the climaxing music we play for our own pleasure and within the company of an engaged crowd. We all long to tell the tales our lives have written day by day between the mundane and the manic or to retell those of others far too tempting to be kept secret.

And a narrative would be incomplete without a set of dazzling, larger-than-life characters ready to take you by the hand and whisk you into their story. These actors are everywhere in daily life, unseen gems in a field of modern repetition. The strange cat-lady who names her cats after Shakespearean characters. The teenage skateboarder who secretly writes the most tender of sonnets for his controversial love interest. The child who sets about the world in a wheelchair with the casual boldness of Han Solo.

I aim to tell stories to the young minds in the world, and those who have refused to completely grow up. Perhaps the harshest critics, perhaps the most brilliant, there is nothing more exciting than watching a child, eyes enormous with the question “and then what happened?!” as they participate in humankind’s most essential ritual: Storytelling.

Rachael lives with her three rats, Gibbs, Dinozzo and McGee in Minneapolis, Minnesota, although occasionally she can be found traversing time and space in the TARDIS. Only occasionally, however.

Clients include: Minnesota Private College Council, Northern Sun, MHA's "The Grapevine" newsletter, Great River Education Arts Theater.

Recognitions include: Society of Illustrators Los Angeles.

For more sketches and artwork, please visit: http://rachaelbalsaitis.tumblr.com/

Book Review Rating:  8 (Fantastic!)

Read on and read always!  Have an amazing day.