THE CLOUD LASSO

This picture book explores loss and memory with a cloud metaphor and countryside backdrop.

Delilah, an overalls-clad girl with paper-white skin, grieves her grandpa, affectionately named Doo-Dad, also white. Soft yet blocky illustrations utilize blues, greens, and browns for countryside landscapes and memory scenes of Delilah with Doo-Dad. Depictions of such activities as building a chicken coop and making ice cream from fresh cow’s milk offer representations of analog activities that might be rare to many readers in the digital age. Matter-of-fact magic becomes part of Delilah’s grief as she uses Doo-Dad’s physical lasso to wrangle real yet figurative clouds. As Delilah practices and begins roping the clouds above her, they turn into Delilah’s nuisances and fears. This gentle narrative may inspire readers to literally look at clouds and also to work on symbolic thinking and social emotional learning. Even if a child is not actively grieving, the clouds can be a conversation starter for scary ideas or for learning how to try again after failing. Despite—or perhaps because of—the complexity of the topic, Delilah’s facial expressions are quite simple. While the story is about moving away from grief, it softly emphasizes the importance of keeping memories.

Quiet, rural, magical grief.