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The Tunnel
CCBC Review:
“Something bad happened. I don’t like to think about it. Now it’s just me and my mom in the quiet house.” A young boy wants to be alone following an unspecified trauma. Shaded black and white illustrations, with red lines and accents, accentuate the somber mood. Seeking refuge in his room, the boy begins to dig, creating a tunnel from the floor of bedroom to his backyard. Standing outside in the moonlight, he looks in at his empty room, at his mom being comforted by his aunt, and wonders if he should disappear. Sitting with the feeling, he feels a shift and decides to tunnel back inside, for now. In his room, the boy’s mother wonders where he escaped. “I think she knows I need a secret place. She might have secret places of her own. I think she knows we sometimes travel far away. Alone, where we don’t have to talk.” The tunnel is an effective metaphor for affirming the importance of a space of safety and silence in this quiet, sensitive picture book. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Erika Rodriguez Medina
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Feelings/Emotions
Trauma
Publisher:
Owlkids
Publish Year: 2022
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781771474276
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Howden