The Good for Nothing Puddle
Finding Hope When You’re Stuck in Sadness
By Jana Jackson
Illustrated by Abby Jartos
Zonderkidz, 40 pages, $18.99
In this powerful picture book about a girl experiencing loss, The Good for Nothing Puddle helps children explore the nature of grief and loss. It does not offer the quick fix of a superficial bandage for those “stuck in sadness.” Instead, it leads them gently and gradually to finding hope amid their pain.
Author Jana Jackson wisely avoids big words like grief and sorrow and simply uses sadness.
Nor does she specify what the loss is. The story opens with this: “Once there was a girl who lost someone she loved very much.” The young reader can therefore read individual loss into the story, whether a beloved pet or grandparent has died or a friend or family member has moved away. Perhaps the child is attending a new school and misses an old classmate. Whatever the loss, in this picture book we simply see a cheerful red balloon, which the young girl has been happily playing with, floating away out of her reach.
Her sadness grows until her tears overflow and form a puddle around her feet. At first, she tries her best to disguise it or make it go away. It feels “yucky, cold and ugly,” and inescapable. Eventually, in her frustration and anger, she cries out to God to take the puddle away. She waits and waits for an answer, but nothing happens. He doesn’t seem to be listening.
Then, one by one, a mud-covered puppy, an exhausted farmer, and a young artist stumble upon the girl and her puddle. Each one finds the puddle extremely helpful in different ways, and slowly the girl begins to understand that her “good for nothing” puddle might just be good for something after all.
As she learns to accept her grief, she begins to find happiness again. Filled with moments of sorrow and joy, The Good for Nothing Puddle uses powerful metaphors for dealing with difficult emotions and navigating grief while holding on to faith.
On the inside front cover, we see the girl enjoying many colorful moments with her red balloon, but after it floats away, the color drains out of not only her face but also much of her world. However, after she meets the puppy, the farmer, and the young artist, color gradually seeps back onto the pages and into her life. Her blue puddle never completely disappears, but now it serves to water a small garden. And on the inside back cover we see the girl enjoying many new moments of happiness with her three new friends.
This fine picture book is for children who have experienced loss of any kind, big or small. It has been reviewed and endorsed by a Christian counselor specializing in child therapy and teaches children as well as adults how to find hope in darkness. It is good for anyone struggling to find God amid sadness.
It should find its place in church libraries and Sunday schools. Ideally, a teacher will be aware of what significant losses her students may have experienced before reading the book with them. Perhaps it would be wiser for the pastor or teacher simply to offer the book to parents to read with their child at home.
After losing her husband, the father of her four daughters, author Jana Jackson knows all too well about grief and the devastating effect it can have on both adults and children. But she has creatively shown a way to help youngsters develop their faith, even amid loss and sorrow.
Sue Careless is senior editor of The Anglican Planet and author of the series Discovering the Book of Common Prayer: A Hands-On Approach. She is based in Toronto.
