The Heavy Bag

March 1, 2024
Grades K-2 A yellow backpack, reaching from a girl's head to her knees and extending to twice her width, represents the burden of the grief she feels over her grandfather's death in this sensitive portrayal of a child's first major loss. The bag arrives on the day Enid's grandfather dies, and it keeps growing. Enid packs the bag with special objects (like the telescope she and he were going to stargaze with). She walks on the path they used to take. Enid goes through stages here: bewilderment, anger, the what-ifs, and regret. With the help of people she meets on the way, who lighten her load and remind her she is not alone, Enid reaches her grandfather's house, where the bag is lighter and filled with beautiful memories. The illustrations have a charming, cartoon-like quality that lightens the heavy subject. Adults who read this may be moved to do the kinds of things that the grandfather and Enid meant to but never did.

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