Sally Goes to Heaven

A deep sense of comfort resounds from the late Huneck’s final book about his black Lab, Sally. As the story opens, Sally is moving slowly, with “aching joints” and no appetite. “The next morning, Sally wakes up in heaven,” writes Huneck; the pearly gates themselves appear opposite, with arched entryways for “good people,” “good cats,” and “good dogs.” Sally quickly discovers that her pain has vanished, and that heaven is a place where meatballs grow on bushes, “Frisbees fill the sky,” and children line up to rub her belly. Huneck’s instantly recognizable woodcuts make each scene feel iconic, and his plainspoken prose will provide grieving young pet-owners with a measure of relief. Ages 5–8. (Apr.)