BEA AND HONEY

In Teetsel’s picture book, two beloved pets, one alive and one deceased, share a secret.

As the story opens, Bea, a black and white dog, is already an angel—the narrator describes her dreaming of the humans she loved so much. When the family decides they are ready to open their hearts to a new dog, they bring Honey home. Honey realizes something that the humans don’t: “The family doesn’t know that Bea is still here with them. They can’t see Bea.” But Honey can, and in the following pages the two dogs share their love for the human family as Bea guides Honey through both mischief and good behavior. Teetsel uses short, spare text and accessible vocabulary, making this useful for young independent readers who may be mourning their own loss. The brief sentences break the text down into small chunks for easy reading, and Gosse’s watercolor illustrations welcome young readers into a loving family (one especially lovely image shows how Honey sees many families followed by their angel pets, who have never left them). The backgrounds are more abstract and light on details, keeping the focus on the characters. The book was inspired by the cover image, a portrait painted by Teetsel’s son of the family dogs—one living and one an angel.

A touching story to help guide young readers through grief by emphasizing love.