Why was this so sad?! I was expecting some cute story about friendship and it was, it was heartwarming but it was just so sad too? It was a beautiful story with a lovely message and the illustrations are beautiful

This book was very sweet and I absolutely loved the soft illustrations. The butterfly was gorgeous. This is a great story for a young child.

This was such a sweet book. It really highlighted in a simple way for children about loss and grief and how it's okay to be sad! In those hard moments, you can find strength and begin to be yourself again. You can find comfort in other things! And enjoy the memory of what you lost and take heart in what they left behind. The illustrations are beautiful!!!

I really enjoyed this book as an early child educator, and a new mom. I took from the story about the butterfly being exhausted but than landing on the rock it starting feeling safe. It was like she felt grounded, and then when the rock disappeared, she was unsure and overwhelmed because she had nowhere to be grounded on. But then she nestled herself in between where the rock used to be felt safe again. . Also, the illustrations are beautiful!

"The Rock and the Butterfly" was a beautiful story about grief written for children but adults will find the message moving as well!

It describes the feeling of loss and then finding the strength in the memories of those we love perfectly.

In this story the butterfly's comfort is the rock, when the rock is taken the butterfly doesn't know where to turn. It tries to find comfort in other things but nothing is quite the same. Then the butterfly realizes once it returns to the spot the rock had been that the memories make it feel strong and then it is able to fly again.

I also want to note that the illustrations were beautiful and paired so perfectly with the story!

I enjoyed reading this story and will recommend it to families/schools in my area when it comes out!

Such a sweet story! I think that this book was super cute and demonstrates really nicely how two things can depend very strongly on each other. This book will likely make parents emotional, but kids won't fully understand the depth of the story until they're older. This makes this book have lasting material. What I mean by this is kids will probably keep this book and realize later how significant the story of The Rock and the Butterfly truly is. That means that this story will be relevant and interesting for a while, maybe even generations. Part of what made this story so influential for me was the illustrations. They were soft, yet still really beautiful and calming. This matched the tone of the story perfectly, so bravo for that!
My one big critique relates to the story. The rock disappears suddenly one day, and the butterfly is sad. We find out that the butterfly continues on with the memory of the rock to keep it going, but what ever happened to the rock? I was waiting to figure this out throughout the entire story, but it never came. I think it would be better for the author to include at least a little bit that explains what happened to the rock (where it went, what happened, etc). This is because readers might be disappointed or frustrated at the end of the book if they're left with a hole in the story, as I was.
Other than that, though, I enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is very sweet yet heartbreaking. It’s about a butterfly who sits on a rock every day, and the rock listens to the butterflies stories. One day the rock is gone and the butterfly does not know what it’s going to do. Will butter be able to find a new safe spot and deal with her grief? This story is actually a metaphor about losing someone you love. This was an excellent yet very sad book. The illustrations were very well done and brought a lot of feeling along with the words.

An emotional yet heartwarming read, the message of learning the ups and downs of losing a safe person is short yet sweet and the illustrations are just as beautiful as the story! Overall a great read

This reading was different from what I was expecting. The story between a butterfly and a rock is a metaphor about death and the emptiness that follows. I was ready for a children book but this is more of an adult story that has saddened me a lot. I really can't tell what I think of this book, if I liked it or not.

Genre ~ Children's Fiction
Publication date ~ October 15, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 32

Oh my gosh, what a sad, yet comforting and heartwarming story.

...the rock listened and said calmly "You're safe now."

Sometimes all you need is someone, or something or somewhere in this case, to just be there for you in any capacity they can. The rock was there for the butterfly to lean on whether it was having a good day or a bad one. In turn, the butterfly was there for the rock, so it wasn't lonely. When the rock was no longer there comfort was found elsewhere.

I think this would be a great book to read to 5-8 year olds that have just lost someone close to them to show that life will eventually move on.

The illustrations by Brooke Kerrigan were simple and lovely, and give off a perfect spring vibe.

*This story was originally written after the death of illustrator Brooke Kerrigan's father, penned for her mother by the author, Kathy Stinson.*

his title is very well written and illustrated beautifully. The juxtaposition of the two characters battling their settings and being there for one another is beautiful and relatable for anyone at any age.

The illustrations really make this book. They are soft, colourful and soothing - which work perfectly with the tone that the author sets throughout the book.

This book would spark great conversations about ways to feel calm or ways to feel brave. I will adapt this into my classroom without question. I hope to see this title on many Canadian prize lists this year.

i expected some cute friendship story but man i almost cried 😭 this was short but heart-touching! also, the drawing was very calming and beautiful.
losing your safe person is never easy. it just breaks you apart!! i am glad butterfly found her peace 🦋🪨