With “Rosie & Crayon,” author Deborah Marcero combines beautiful and colorful language and illustrations to create a story about a girl and the dog she loved and what happened when her beloved dog died.

Rosie loved Crayon and Crayon “colored Rosie’s world with tickled greens and fluttering yellows. From season to season and day to night, their world together was filled with beautiful colors and feelings of togetherness.

So when Crayon died, in Rosie’s world, “The sky filled with clouds that pinched out the sun. Black became suitable. White worked like an eraser. And gray could mask almost anything. Rosie’s heart zipped itself up, and the world became a cold, colorless place.

This story takes the readers through the stages of grief and shows how Rosie was able to eventually remember the fullness of her life with Crayon, and how her wonderful life with Crayon had made her world better than ever.

This is a book that would be a perfect tool for parents, teachers, psychologists, social workers and others to use when discussing loss with children. It would be great for use with a huge variety of ages, too. Even young children would understand the simple text, and older children (even middle school) would appreciate the metaphor and beautiful language in the story.

For anyone who has ever experienced the loss of a pet, this brings back memories — good and bad — and is a healing vehicle. This is a book that should be available in every school library.

Please note: This review is based on the final, hardcover book provided by Peter Pauper Press for review purposes.