Such a special book!! Patricia Kreiser provides a beautiful children's book about grief. In this book, two otters spend all of their time together, until one passes away and the other is left feeling all alone. The grieving otter struggles with sadness and missing the other otter, but finds the memories continue to live on. Patricia does an excellent job of addressing grief in a way a child would understand and bringing the book around before the end to show the grieving otter is happy in remembering all of the memories and times together.

Highly recommend!!! The illustrations are so sweet and simple. I loved this book!

Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me an advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion of this book. Thank you also to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

This book was beautifully illustrated and I understood the message, but I feel like it was done someone abruptly. The beginning of the story was cute and fun, then it just dropped off and you were left with seeing an otter grieving. I can see how this book might be helpful to see how to cope with grief, but I don't see it as a book to just use as a normal read aloud.

"Always Together" is a touching addition to our elementary library. Patricia Kreiser's debut as an author-illustrator artfully explores themes of loss, separation, and loneliness with minimal yet powerful text and soft watercolor illustrations. This heartfelt narrative is a compelling reminder of the significance of companionship and connection, making it a must-read for young readers. Highly recommended for its touching storytelling and evocative artwork.

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for the Digital ARC.

#AlwaysTogether #NetGalley

This is such a touching book! The illustrations are wonderful! When one otter is no longer there, the other finds new friends while remembering good times. This would be a good book for a child to read that has a connection to loss.

This was a beautiful story of love and loss. I loved that this story of loss could be used in different ways. A friend moving, a separation or divorce. There are so many types of loss that children experience, this story lets them know that loss is hard but memories are still there and it’s ok. Love the beautifully done pictures. This would be a great book to keep in the classroom to help students dealing with loss.

Thank you NetGalley and Capstone for an advanced digital copy.

This book caught me off guard. the first half is so adorable! The illustrations are perfect and the sentence structure is simple for all readers. I truly loved it, but the ending was so heartbreaking. I think this would be a great story to have on hand in case you ever need to teach about loss to a child, but otherwise, this might be a confusing and intimidating story to read to children if they haven't experienced that yet.

This book is so cute! I will recommend it to parents of my students who have lost someone special in their life. The pictures are amazing and go perfectly with theme. And actually now that I think about it, I could totally add this to my school collection when we are talking about themes!

This book was not what I expected it to be, it was really sad and I think it would be a good book to help little ones understand loss but I wouldn't just read it on an every day occasion.

Was a beautifully illustrated story with the basic concept of loss, the reactions you may feel and how to remember you are △⃒⃘lways together. This was more a guiding book for you to explain loss after the story more than it being the book to explain.

Wow. Okay. I was NOT expecting tears. It’s a shame that any child would meet grief so soon, but this book would be comforting during such a difficult time. The watercolor art is beautiful and peaceful. Otters are a wonderful choice of character as they typically seem so happy and playful. It shows that even the happiest of us have hard days. It made me tear up. So sweet!

So sad. I think this would be an excellent story to get for a child trying to understand grief. It was sweet and sad, but simple enough that a child can process what they are going through. The art was so cute.

4 stars

This is a beautiful story about life and death. It is an emotional read but is told simply so that children would understand it. It discusses the range of emotions we feel when someone dies. It had me a little teary-eyed, but the ending turned things around, where it made me smile. The watercolor illustrations are gorgeous! Highly recommend!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. These are my own thoughts and opinions.

Always Together is a very touching book. I did not expect to feel so emotional while reading this book. This book would be a great tool to help young children understand loss. My grandmother died very unexpectedly when I was a child and I think a book like this would have helped me work through those emotions.

The illustrations in Always Together are just beautiful. Feom the very first page, I was hooked from the pictures alone. Even with so few words, this book had me in tears by the end. I would recommend this book for a child who has experienced loss.

The abrupt change in the tone of the book was jarring the first time I read through. It was very fitting to the emotions felt by sudden loss of a loved one.

The pictures are well done and take up the entire page. The sentences are pretty short on the pages and since there is not a lot of text, it would make it easy for a child to follow along and also read. When I thought of the title Always Together, I originally thought (before reading the description) it would be about the otters always being together as in playing all the time. If a child experiences a loss then this one book would be good to show them that even though they might be lonely and sad they can still look back on the good memories they had. For me, I thought of if I were to lose our pup.

It starts out with two otters always together but then one is left behind. Although the otter is lonely and sad, it also mentions how the otter can always remember his/her time with the other one.

The art work was lovely, but it made me so sad! I could see it being a good book for a child who has a loss and isn’t understanding it.

Ok I just cried a bit. This is a gorgeous children's book which is about two otters who spend all their time together, until one of them passes away and the other one is feeling very lonely. The grieving otter is devastated and goes through a period of sadness, before it is able to finally remember all the memories the two otters had together. Then it is able to be happy again and remember all the good times they had, and they realise that they will still always be together.

The illustrations in the book are really beautiful, and the story is heartwarming, emotional, touching and heartbreaking. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Always Together is a beautifully illustrated guide to the often confusing feelings of grief and loneliness when we lose someone we love. The illustrations in this book are beautiful, and they fit so perfectly with the story, describing some of the feelings of loss. Wonderful book to help kiddos deal with loss in their life, to teach them words to describe their feelings, and to help them understand that the things they feel are normal and OK.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this advanced review copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review on the book!

First off, the water color illustrations in this book are stunning. Each illustration is visually pleasing and jumps right off the page full of cozy, whimsical vibes. The subject matter of the book while heartbreaking (the otters are separated- themes of loss and grief) provides children with an insight on how to deal with feelings of loss and grief or shows them that whatever their emotions (anger, sadness, loneliness) are valid and acceptable. Every child should have access to this book. Honestly every adult should read this book too.

“Always Together” helps children identify the emotions that arise when someone leaves our life. Delicate, colorful watercolor images help young readers connect to the text and keep them engaged. The last few pages pivot to cherishing memories and finding the joy in life after someone is no longer around. A great read for children having to move, whose friends are moving, or who have lost a loved one to some other circumstance. This simple, gentle story helps guide them through naming motions they might be experiencing so that they can tackle what is truly bothering them. It ends on a bittersweet positive note that can be a springboard for conversation with family and friends.