Picture Book Friday

 

Beneath by author and illustrator Cori Doerrfeld

Did you ever have one of those days when you just wanted to stay in bed with the covers pulled over your head? Today is one of those days for Finn who “doesn’t want to talk about it!”

Even when Grandpa coaxes Finn into taking a walk in the forest, the quilt goes too. That’s okay with Grandpa. “I’ll remember to think of what’s beneath,” he promises. Over the course of the walk, Grandpa gently draws Finn’s attention to what’s beneath in nature—the roots of massive trees, the teeming aquatic life under the quiet lake waters, the delicate eggs snug beneath a nesting bird—to name a few. Eventually, Finn’s curiosity leads to a question about whether or not their observations apply to people.  Finn learns that beneath appearances are experiences, beneath differences are similarities… and best of all… empathy and understanding.

Doerrfeld’s approach to this delicate subject matter is simple, honest, and straight forward honoring the child’s feelings without becoming preachy.

The lovely artwork provides lots of visual clues for young readers to find and decode. The images not only furnish insight into what’s beneath in nature, but also offer hints to what is going on with the assortment of hikers encountered later in the story.

Pairing the child’s emotional place with the hidden depths of the natural world discovered on the forest walk creates ample opportunities for a conversation about hidden feelings that can often be hard to identify or bring into the open. That conversation is further enhanced by the addition of a broad variety of individuals who may require a second look to learn more about them—a subtle reminder to look past first impressions.

BENEATH offers a wonderful means to introduce a discussion about feelings and experiences and I can imagine some thoughtful SEL lessons predicated on this nature-as-a-metaphor theme.

Recommended for home and school libraries.