CHILDREN’S book of the week

THE PERFECT SHELTER by Clare Helen Welsh, illustrated by Asa Gilland, Little Tiger Press, £11.99

TALKING to children about someone they love falling sick will always be terribly difficult. This thoughtful story book may not take the worry and hurt away, but it will definitely help young kids better understand, and even articulate, their feelings around such an upsetting situation.

The Perfect Shelter sees two little girls building a den together, until the elder sister becomes poorly. The younger sister struggles with her parents’ sadness and her sister being unwell, all the while missing their den.

The cadence makes it a little difficult to read aloud at points – some of it is lyrical, where other sections jar – but it’s a comforting read, and refreshingly author

Clare Helen Welsh doesn’t provide solutions or promises that everything will get better for the sisters.

The message is to enjoy the now, and Asa Gilland’s illustrations are busy, bright and suitably uplifting.