In Things I Learned From My Dog, questions of how we grieve and when to let love back in loom large. The story follows the narrator’s relationship with their dog Luna, who came home from the farmer’s market, full of fleas, when the narrator was six. Over their years together, the narrator learned various lessons from their pet, including “That friends can come in many different colours, shapes and sizes,” and, “That we should do what is right even when no one is watching.” (Luna was clearly better behaved than the pups I’ve had. More than one chewed shoe comes to mind!)

Though pet loss is experienced by many children, few picture books address it directly. When searching for stories for my own son after the death of our much-loved dog this winter, I discovered The Tenth Good Thing About Barney and Jasper’s Day, two classics that speak honestly about death in a child’s voice. In Things I Learned from My Dog, Luna’s death is suggested rather than named. But when the narrator’s own child asks to get a dog many years later, they are forced to decide if they are ready to love a pet again. 

The illustrations take this values-driven book somewhere wonderfully unexpected. Rendered in soft, textured pencil and muted earth tones, in Dena Seiferling’s hands, Luna the dog is a larger-than-life presence. The drawings capture that bridge between memory and reality, how what once felt immense in childhood takes on a different form when seen again through adult eyes. mRb