Without the rock, how would the butterfly rest?
Who would listen to the butterfly’s stories?
The butterfly tried hanging onto a leaf like it had seen other butterflies do.
It tried telling the story of its day to a sweetly scented shrub.
It tried snuggling down between blades of grass.
But the butterfly missed the solid feel of the rock and kept on flitting.
Try as it might, it could not settle down.
Suffering a loss is often a very sad and lonely experience. So many things in one’s life change that they can sometimes wonder how or when everything will fall into place again without their loved one to count on for support and a warm hug. Comforting a grieving child about the loss of a loved one can be a fragile time where tenderness is needed.
Kathy Stinson’s book about two good friends, a butterfly and a rock, is a lovely story to share with a child when broaching the subject of loss. Butterfly and rock enjoy a quintessential friendship. Butterfly flitters around all day while rock stays in the same spot all day waiting for butterfly to return with wondrous tales from adventures of the day. Suddenly one day, rock is not in the usual place. Butterfly is devastated and can’t seem to comfort itself until finally slumping onto the ground to rest. As butterfly awakes, it realizes that it landed right on rock’s spot where it finds solace in memories of a lost friend. Sharing this story with a loved one can help to open the conversation about loss.
The illustrations that are created by Brooke Kerrigan are a beautiful complement to Kathy Stinson’s words. Lovely illustrations of nature are coloured in a washed pastel palette which expresses the emotions of the story in darkening and brightening colours.
Tamara Opar is Youth Services Head Librarian, Children and Teen Services at the Millennium Branch of Winnipeg Public Library.
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