With bold watercolors and fanciful characters, Levert (The Princess Who Had Almost Everything
) depicts a fairy's heartache over the loss of her pet. Tulip, a watering fairy wearing a wide skirt that resembles her namesake flower and a watering can on top of her head, has a best friend, Lupin, a honey-making dog bee (part dog, part bee). The two of them spend their days flying through fields and their nights howling at the moon, but “after a thousand and a thousand more days together,” Lupin slows down and eventually dies. Missing Lupin mightily, Tulip travels to sea, and over the course of a lengthy, introspective journey, she comes to understand that “she will never forget Lupin.” And upon returning home, she discovers a baby dog bee to take under her wing. Despite the fairyland setting, Levert does not sugarcoat Lupin's death (he is shown in a cardboard box before Tulip buries him) nor Tulip's emotions. The pacing is a touch erratic and the straightforward prose slightly distancing, but overall Levert offers a whimsical but honest story about grieving. Ages 4–7. (Mar.)
