The Perfect Shelter (Hardcover)
$14.99
On Our Shelves Now
Description
A story about sisters. A story about love. A story about how it feels when someone close to you is sick. When the author’s uncle was diagnosed with cancer, she wrote this text for her children, to help them name and explore the complicated feelings borne of heartbreaking situations.
Praise For…
"Written by Clare Helen Welsh and illustrated by Åsa Gilland, THE PERFECT SHELTER is gentle way to explore complicated emotions experienced when someone close is sick. Gilland’s beautiful artwork is engaging and inviting, a perfect complement to the range of complicated emotions expressed by the young narrator."
-- Jojo's Book Club
"I can't do this story justice with my words, but I will say that it beautifully portrays the experience a family goes through with life changing diagnoses, such as cancer. One of the things I really appreciated about this book are the illustrations. I love the diversity in the people, a mixed race family, a Black doctor, the little details that can make such a difference in a book."
-- Oh, The Books We Love!
"The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. ... I loved how the ending of this book doesn’t promise a happy ending, merely that the family will just be together. This book could be a great conversation starter for a child who is dealing with someone in their family having an illness, or if they personally have an illness."
-- PSLA Literature Review
"This reassuring work provides comfort to a young child struggling to understand a serious illness, and is a testament that the close bonds between siblings can withstand even the worst storms.”
-- The Horn Book
"Welsh's gentle text tackles a complicated emotional situation and deals with it in a gentle way. Gilland's child-friendly illustrations add to this story about an interracial family dealing with one of every parents' worst nightmare, the serious illness of a child. Highly recommended for any home, school or public library's collection to help children face their fears of having to go to a hospital."
-- The Pirate Tree
"This is a beautiful and uplifting book... The Perfect Shelter explores complicated emotions that surround battling an illness in the family. It is helpful to spark conversations about struggling with a disease, suffering and the possibility of losing family. This book is well crafted, gentle and inspiring."
-- BooksGrowMinds
"Absolutely beautiful artwork! … Realistic, beautiful, and poignant."
--Imagination Soup, “46 New Picture Books, Fall 2020, Childhood Life”
"Ultimately, this is a story about family relationships, love, and showing up for one another even when you’re scared. This is a warm and gentle book to start conversations with littles about serious illnesses, and to help them begin to make sense of it all. Although the story is about cancer, a timely connection can be made for children with family members with Covid.”
-- MaiStoryBook Library
"This book is stunning and beautiful in every way."
--Big Books for Little Hands
"A heartfelt look at a difficult situation. ... If your child or a child you know is trying to cope with a sick loved one, this is a must-read for them!"
-- Little Cub Literacy
"…captures the turmoil, uncertainty, sadness, and anxiety of watching a loved one go through illness and wanting things to go back to normal, and it ends with a celebration of finding a new normal. Gilland's illustrations use gorgeous layered colors, patterns, and clean lines with plenty of white space for thoroughly engaging pictures. … Lovely and healing."
-- Kirkus Reviews, STARRED
"The Perfect Shelter is a story about cancer. But, more than that, it's a story about family relationships, about love, about walking next to someone who is ill, about showing up when you are scared. ... I believe The Perfect Shelter is a gentle door through which conversations about cancer and serious illness can start, helping our children to start to make sense of the messy and imperfect human story."
-- Children's Lit Love
