Her Mother's Face
“Her mother had died when Siobhán was only three.” In this quiet story set in Dublin, a girl is left with a father so sad he never speaks to her about her mother. By the time she is 10, Siobhán can no longer remember her mother’s face; it’s an “empty space” that causes painful unhappiness. One day, Siobhán meets a beautiful woman who recognizes the girl’s sadness and listens to her story. The woman tells her to look in the mirror to find her mother’s face and whispers a message for Siobhán’s father. Siobhán keeps looking in the mirror, and as an adult, her reflection is that of the woman she met in the park. This would not seem to be a book for every child, though it is certainly a tender tale for those who have lost a parent. Yet Blackwood’s wonderful watercolor-and-charcoal art, reminiscent of Patricia Polacco’s pictures, has a lightness that, while not diminishing the story’s heartbreaking core, adds a hopeful, soothing dimension. Life goes on, the book informs readers, and so can individuals. Grades K-3. --Ilene Cooper