"Lily concentrated on the game and found
number three real fast - a red-winged blackbird
perched on a swaying stalk of last year's corn.
It was dark and bright all at once,
its beak wide open in a song they couldn't hear."
There are times when we need to look to our world for beautiful things. That act of gratitude can bring a sense of peace to our world. Lily is making a big change in her life. She is moving, without her parents, to live with her Gram in Iowa. What has occasioned the change is not divulged.
All of Lily's belongings are packed in her Gram's car as together they make the long trip from her urban home to a new house in the countryside. Gram suggests the 'beautiful things' game as a way to distract Lily from her worries and in hopes of making the trip seem shorter. Lily is not convinced that it will help at all. At first, she doesn't see one beautiful thing. As time passes, she is helped by Gram to find beauty in the world, and Lily's mood changes.
After a quick rest stop that allows the two to breathe in the 'earthy and rich' smells of mud, they resume their journey. A double page spread as they near their destination clearly shows the beauty of a summer storm - wind, dark clouds, lightning strikes, and intermittent rains. The scene leaves them speechless. And then, they are HOME, the final beautiful thing of their long journey.
"None of this was easy.
Maybe it would never be easy.
But she belonged with Gram now.
She belonged here now."
The accompanying digital artwork provides natural drama for their day-long search, and expressive moments for a young girl facing the unknown. Still, the last beautiful scene showing the love the two share brings their game full circle.
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