All of a Sudden and Forever: Help and Healing After the Oklahoma City Bombing by Chris Barton, Nicole Xu
Published by Carolrhoda Books (R) on February 4, 2020
ISBN: 1541526694
Pages: 40
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

Chris Barton uses a single American elm tree that withstood the devastation of the Oklahoma City bombing as the center of this book about grief and perseverance. The year after the bombing seedlings from the tree were started and eventually used for a memorial and for gifts given to those also grieving major losses. The seedlings continued to be propagated and became symbols for the strength of the human spirit. This book has sparse, but effective, text and minimal, but lovely, illustrations. It’s restrained and heart-wrenching and reverent.  I can only imagine how difficult it is to write a children’s book about grief, and especially one that embraces how long it can take for a single person, or a nation, to recover, but Chris Barton has done it beautifully here. This isn’t a book I would choose as an everyday read aloud but it has its place as a discussion starter or a comfort after a traumatic event.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free library, Bath