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Maybe Tomorrow? (a story about loss, healing, and friendship) Hardcover – Picture Book, March 26, 2019

by Charlotte Agell (Author), Ana Ramírez González (Illustrator)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 175 ratings
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A heartwarming story about loss, healing, and how to be a friend during hard times.

This tender exploration of loss illuminates the sustaining power of kindness, empathy, and friendship. It will resonate with anyone who has experienced hardship or grief, from the death of a loved one or a pet, to the transition to a new home, family situation, or learning environment. It is especially comforting during this time of social distancing and the uncertainty around what the future holds, sensitively demonstrating that we are stronger together.

"[Offers] hope that the world can be beautiful place...an excellent purchase." --School Library Journal

"Demonstrate[s] the power of patience, listening, and simply showing up." --Kirkus Reviews

Elba has a big block. She's been dragging it around for a long time.

Norris dances everywhere he goes, even uphill. He is always surrounded by a happy cloud of butterflies.

Can Norris and his butterflies help ease Elba's sadness and convince her to join them on a trip to the ocean?

Previous page
  1. Reading age
    4 - 8 years
  2. Print length
    40 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Preschool - 3
  5. Lexile measure
    500L
  6. Dimensions
    7.5 x 0.5 x 9.75 inches
  7. Publisher
    Scholastic Press
  8. Publication date
    March 26, 2019
  9. ISBN-10
    1338214888
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1338214888
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2—Elba, a pink hippopotamus, is weighed down by a heavy black block. Representing depression, anxiety, or sadness, the block is physically tethered to Elba, and greatly limits what she can do. Enter Norris, an alligator so cheerful that he dances everywhere he goes, "even uphill," surrounded by bevy of butterflies. Norris kindly but persistently encourages Elba to join him in various activities. Slowly, patiently, he cajoles Elba to try a few new things, always in a way that is comfortable for her. When it is raining, Norris joins Elba sitting on her block, and they quietly have tea. When Norris wants to go to the beach, he and the butterflies help Elba move the block. As they spend more time together, Elba eventually tells Norris about her friend, Little Bird, who is gone. Nonspecific about Little Bird's whereabouts, the painfulness of loss is a emotion that many children will recognize. Norris's concern for Elba does not erase her pain, but helps her manage it a little better. Watercolor, charcoal, graphite, and a combination of traditional and digital brushes are used to create appealing illustrations that acknowledge Elba's sadness while still offering hope that the world can be beautiful place. VERDICT This sensitive story will be valuable to adults helping children recognize and understand grief; an excellent purchase.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond

Review

Praise for Maybe Tomorrow?:"[Offers] hope that the world can be beautiful place...an excellent purchase." --School Library Journal"Demonstrate[s] the power of patience, listening, and simply showing up when loved ones are navigating difficult emotions. Ramírez González's illustrations... utilize bright, textured colors, simple rounded shapes, and subtle yet eloquent facial expressions to sweetly emphasize the characters' emotional journey. A poignant exploration of depression, grief, and friendship. --Kirkus Reviews"Norris the alligator is optimism personified... Elba, a pink hippo, couldn't be more different...With Norris's gentle prodding and willingness to befriend her as she is, Elba reveals that she is mourning the loss of her dear friend, Little Bird...Norris seems to instinctively know how to help his new pal without encroaching on her emotional boundaries; his patient demeanor and her quiet emergence become the story's narrative. Ramírez González's sunny digitized watercolors echo this hopeful mood with a lightness and energy." --Publishers Weekly

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Press (March 26, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1338214888
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1338214888
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 - 8 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 500L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 3
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.5 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 175 ratings

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
175 global ratings
“I can help you miss her.”
5 Stars
“I can help you miss her.”
This book is beautifully written and uses more literal interpretations of grief that kids may find easier to understand. I was moved to tears as I read it to my kids. Feelings can be hard to explain, understand, process and live with. This book sheds some light on the hardship of coping with this heavy burden.
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Top reviews from the United States

MDMama
5.0 out of 5 stars "I can help you miss her."
Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is such a lovely and sweet book. Elba the little hippo is sad, and carries around a block that kind of drags behind her (grief). Norris the alligator is always happy and wants to take her on a picnic, but she just can't because she is sad and just wants to sit on her block. Norris is content to just "be" with her in her sadness for a while, and then he convinces her to come to the ocean with him. Once there, she says that she misses her friend Little Bird a lot, and they had been good friends and had always been together, but now Little Bird is gone. (It doesn't say what happened to her, but that is part of the beauty-- that framework of missing someone who is "gone" can fit any number of situations.)

I choked up in reading this book to my 6yr old and 4yr old at two points in the book. First, when Norris tells Elba that he misses Little Bird, too. Elba asks how that could be, since he never knew Little Bird. Norris says (paraphrasing), "yes, but you miss her, and I'm your friend, so I can help you miss her." I immediately got a huge lump in my throat at the simple beauty and empathy of that statement.

Secondly, I hard a hard time recovering my composure when some of Norris's butterfly friends fly away, and Elba cries out, "Come back!" to them and seems grief-stricken at their departure. Norris simply tells her that sometimes you have to let things go, and that's okay.

In the end, with time, Elba's big block gets smaller and more manageable. Such a lovely and accurate representation of grief. It never goes away, but it does happen that the person carrying the grief becomes incrementally more able to manage it.

Beautiful, simple, amazing. Lovely models of empathy and compassion and grief at work. This book is a keeper.
9 people found this helpful
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MC
5.0 out of 5 stars A great gift for someone suffering a loss
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book always brings tears to my eyes but also joy in my heart. My daughter brought it home from the school library one day after my mother had died and I thought it was such a beautiful message. I have gotten it for friends with children who have lost grandparents, relatives and even their pet.
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Catherine Buchholz
5.0 out of 5 stars Touching Story
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
As a family that lost someone very suddenly, this book is a beautiful story about someone sitting with their friend going through someone. I cried the first time I read it to my two small kids.
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Meghan DeGuelle
5.0 out of 5 stars An important read for children and adults
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book is a great catalyst for helping children work through difficult emotions. I loved that when I read it to my children I didn’t have to explain anything. The message is eloquently conveyed in the writing and illustrations, both giving a strong sense of hope. I think sometimes children feel alone because they don’t know how to define their emotions or how to work through them. As parents, teachers, and caregivers we often forget how important it is to just be there for them, to listen, and to be patient. It’s not always about remedying the situation right away. Maybe Tomorrow? is an important book for children, but it is also an important read for adults, helping us remember what children really need from us. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know and it is one I will never forget!
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littlerhody2
5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe Tomorrow? Stole My Heart
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
This beautifully illustrated and incredibly well written homage to the burdens we all carry may be intended for children, but it sneaked into and stole my heart. The characters are Elba and Norris, easy to articulate in any language. The idea of the book is to help someone, anyone, understand and carry their loss. It would not matter if it were a lost friendship, a broken heart, illness or a death - this book is for all of it. Ages 5 to 105. I think it would be the VERY BEST gift anyone could give another person who is having a tough time. To me the message is ageless, and the illustrations make the prose soar . . . INCREDIBLE!! Get it and have no regrets whatsoever.
7 people found this helpful
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Trina Hines
5.0 out of 5 stars How to be supportive to a grieving loved one
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
Two years ago my twin sons died in the NICU after being born 16 weeks premature. Since then I’ve read countless books about infant loss and grief. I’m a preschool teacher and this book was brought to me by a parent in my class whose daughter’s guinea pig died. I felt so connected to it in my own life that I bought it for myself. This book perfectly shows how to be a companion to someone in their grief and both children and adults could learn so much about something that so many people are uncomfortable with in today’s society. It also, in my view, addresses trauma in the sense that not only does Elba always have her block, but she has her umbrella too, anticipating rain. Some day, when she is older, my rainbow baby (my daughter born after the deaths of my sons) will have questions about her big brothers, about the feelings that my husband and I have surrounding their deaths, and about the feelings she might have too, even though she never got a chance to meet them. I know I’ll have this book to read to her when that time comes.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Erin
5.0 out of 5 stars A must have
Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book is so helpful for kids and adults alike. Its a gentle reminder that our anxieties may not always be healed, and don’t have to be, and that accepting and giving support is sometimes all we can do. And that’s ok.
Love love love this book!
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