A tender but emotionally weighty story about losing someone special. Its strongest feature is the storm-in-a-jar image, which gives Arlo’s sadness and anger a concrete visual form before the story turns towards remembering Nana.
Arlo learns that Nana has died and keeps her special jar because it helps him feel close to her. A new Sunday tradition develops around remembering her.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book presents bereavement through a child’s attachment to an everyday object and shows remembrance becoming part of a changed routine.
Talk about: How might the story’s idea of keeping or adapting an object compare with your child’s own ways of remembering?
Anger and emotional expression
Arlo’s sadness becomes anger, imagined as a storm inside the jar, until he can no longer tolerate it and the storm is released.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The metaphor frames recognising and sharing feelings as important, while the story uses visual transformation rather than direct instruction alone.
Talk about: If feelings build up, what ways of expressing them would feel manageable and safe for your child?
Visual storytelling and change
The artwork depicts waves and emotions inside the jar, with darker pages at the beginning and brighter colours after Arlo reaches understanding.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: Colour, facial expression and repeated imagery appear to carry part of the emotional arc, making the pictures important alongside the words.
Talk about: What changes in colour, expression or the jar does your child notice, and how do those changes affect their reading of Arlo’s feelings?
✦
Why It May Be Worth Reading
This may offer a gentle way into conversations about grief, changing family routines and remembering someone who has died. It also presents strong visual cues for discussing how sadness, anger, loneliness or confusion can coexist.
!
What Deserves Attention
Nana’s death is central, and Arlo’s sadness develops into anger. He considers smashing the jar, while illustrations show darker emotional turmoil before calmer, brighter images; some children may find the story sad.
↔
A Conversation Worth Having
What feelings might the jar represent for your child, and would they want to keep, change or create an object that reminds them of someone? If loss feels personal, what would feel supportive?
◇
Reading Approach
Read it together when there is time to pause, naming the death and anger plainly if helpful. Let your child respond to the pictures first, and stop or revisit later if the emotions feel too close.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Bereavement and remembrance: The full treatment of Nana’s death, including how the family discusses it, is not established.
Anger and emotional expression: The precise actions and language used to manage Arlo’s anger are not fully established.
Visual storytelling and change: The complete visual sequence and all illustration details are not established.
Suitabook