A quiet, achingly powerful story of loss, recovery, and the comfort of simply being there.
Grief is a big hole. At least, that’s how it feels for Little Bear, whose Papa Bear has died, leaving behind a vast, invisible absence “full of everything that wasn’t any longer.” Other animals don’t see it. They walk right over it. But Little Bear can’t. “Maybe only I can see it,” he wonders, sitting alone with his sorrow. Enter Squirrel, a gentle presence who doesn’t offer advice or distractions, just a quiet acknowledgement: “I can see the hole.” She’s been there too, she says, when her sister died. “Sometimes I was angry, so I yelled into it,” she tells him. “Sometimes I was sad, so I cried over it.” They sit side by side, two small figures next to a vast, wordless ache. And somehow, over time and with crayons, music, and shared silence, the hole begins to shrink.
Seal’s language is spare but layered with meaning, making space for complex feelings without overwhelming young readers. The transformation isn’t immediate or magical. The hole never vanishes in a puff of light. Instead, it grows smaller as Little Bear engages with it. He draws pictures and writes letters. He sobs. He sings. And when the tree finally grows in the hole’s place (green, tender, rooted in memory), it feels entirely earned. Mirjam Siim’s soft watercolor illustrations echo this emotional arc with remarkable subtlety. From muted gray-blues and emptiness to warm greens and soft sunlight, her visual storytelling tracks the slow thaw of grief with grace and quiet assurance.
The book doesn’t shy away from the hardest things: loneliness, longing, and the fact that not everything broken can be put back the way it was. But in its place, something else might grow. Something beautiful. Squirrel never tells Little Bear to be strong. She doesn’t try to distract him or cheer him up. She just sits. And in doing so, she models the kind of presence children need when they’re grieving: patient, honest, and willing to be there in the dark.
Teachers and caregivers will find Little Bear and the Big Hole an invaluable tool for supporting children through bereavement, particularly those dealing with the death of a parent or close loved one. The book also teaches children what it means to feel deeply, to hurt, to heal, and to be seen.
A poetic and emotionally resonant reflection on loss that gently affirms: some holes don’t disappear, they transform.
Pub date April 4, 2025
Starfish Bay Children’s Books
ISBN 978-1760362324
Price $18.47 (USD) Hardcover
Pages 32 (Hardcover)
Reading age 4-8
Grade level Kindergarten-3
