A loving, gentle, and simple look at loss. A girl and her grandmother share many special moments together: drinking tea, appreciating the seasons, dancing under the autumn leaves. As time goes on, though, grandma participates less and less.

Eventually, the grandmother passes on, leaving the young girl lonely and sad. But she finds a way to reconnect with the memories she has of her grandmother. Tying the personal loss to the seasons as they pass was an elegant backdrop for a difficult moment.

The illustrations are bright and warm, featuring all the most lovely fall colors and evoking the vibrancy of this relationship. I was concerned a bit that this young girl had no other support — it was just her and her grandmother, and then it was just her. In picture book world, I can accept that this was just a hyper focus on this relationship, and that parents or friends existed beyond the periphery. But I can’t say it didn’t weigh on me, watching this girl take on the burden of care and grief on her own.