LOLA AND THE RENT-A-CAT

Originally published in 2007 in Holland, this story of an elderly woman’s loneliness in the wake of her husband’s death contains images that will raise questions from young readers—the husband’s body in a casket, that casket being carried to the grave. But it’s hard to imagine a better book to hand a child who has lost a grandparent. Lola and John have been married for 56 years. Life is good with some exceptions: “Sometimes John is sad for no reason and loses his way around the house.” After John dies, Lola visits rentacat.com and impulsively orders #313: Tim. A day later, the cat arrives, bringing joy, comfort, and distraction back to Lola’s life. Jitta’s frumpy, endearing depictions float atop colored graph paper (and add a collage-style navigation bar when Lola surfs the web). There’s no real ending; after basking in sweet memories, “Lola gets to her feet. ‘Off to bed, Tim. Tomorrow is another day.’” Rarely do picture books get much sadder, though it’s how Jitta moves past that sadness that is most impressive. Grades K-2. --Daniel Kraus