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Saturday, May 8, 2021

Addy's Cup of Sugar. A Stillwater Tale written and illustrated by Jon J Muth. Scholastic, 2020. $23.99 ages 5 and up

 


"Addy was very sad. 
Trumpet couldn't be gone. 
This couldn't really be happening. 
There must be something she could do!

Then Addy remembered her
friend Stillwater. He knew a lot about 
how to help people. He would know 
how to bring Trumpet back again. 
Addy ran to find him.
"

Addy is so sad. Her much-loved kitten named Trumpet has died following being hit by a car. Her world was so much better with Trumpet in it. Lost in grief, she turns to her friend Stillwater, a wise and supportive panda who offers his counsel. He will make her a medicine meant to ease her broken heart. He cannot, however, make that medicine without sugar, and he has none. He tasks her with borrowing the needed cup of sugar from a neighbor. There is one condition: the sugar MUST come from a house that has never experienced death. 

At every house visited, she listens to stories of loss. She cannot find the house she needs. 

"Addy thought about all the people 
she had met today. When she looked 
at their faces, she knew how each of 
them had felt. And while she was still 
very sad, she did not feel quite so alone.
"

Her journey made her think even more about all that she loved about Trumpet. Those memories made her cry. Back she ran to find Stillwater sitting on his porch. Addy now knew what the medicine was meant to do ... exactly as the panda had hoped she would discover. Trumpet is sure to have a special place in her heart. 

Jon Muth's watercolor and pen artwork beautifully portrays the emotions experienced by those who share their stories with Addy. In shimmering spreads, he is able to help Addy and the children who read her story realise the power of memory to ease the pain felt when a loved one dies.

An author's note adds context. 

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