Where Are You, Brontë?

In a wordless introductory sequence to this story rooted in memory, late Caldecott and Newbery Honoree dePaola, portrayed with red-rimmed spectacles, beholds in billowing clouds the form of his terrier Brontë. Indoors, he looks down at an empty dog bed, made more poignant by the presence of balls and toys. Reminiscing text that begins “Where Are You, Brontë?” first recalls the young dog’s arrival: “You flew to me on an airplane from Chicago.” When Brontë whimpers in his crate, he’s invited onto dePaola’s bed... “for the next twelve and a half years.” Melding her distinctive clear-line style with dePaola’s own, McClintock (Tomfoolery!) captures Brontë’s beguiling antics as a young pup, and later, as an older dog adapting to blindness (“You were able to find all three of your beds”). After the dog’s death, dePaola is shown drawing the dog’s portrait and fitting it inside a frame with a smile—“still with me, in my heart forever.” Alongside images that cleverly summon beats from dePaola’s works, simple words about difficult emotions offer layers of comfort for readers wondering about the whereabouts of a late loved one. It’s a moving ode to Brontë and to dePaola—the creator who loved him. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An illustrator’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. (May)