Maybe A Rainbow: Henry and Bea by Jessixa Bagley

Henry and Bea were the best of friends.

It was as if they could tell what the other was thinking without saying a word.

But one day Henry has nothing to say, except that he wants to be alone.

It's hard for a friend to know what to do when a good friend suddenly withdraws.

So when their teacher announces a field trip to a local farm, Bea hopes that the outing will help Henry feel better. But he's distant on the bus, and as the farmer takes the kids on a tour of farm animals and equipment, Henry withdraws and goes off on his own.

Seeing him go alone into the barn, Bea follows and finds Henry sitting in the loft on a bale of hay. Silently he shows her a worn cat collar, broken and dirty.

"Buddy died last week," said Henry.

"It's hard to lose a friend," said Bea.

A friend in need is a friend indeed, and Bea's understanding helps her friend deal with his loss, in Jessixa Bagley's Henry and Bea (Neal Porter/Holiday House, 2019). Bagley's gentle narration and soft, evocative spot art and full-page illustrations show readers how sharing sadness can help a friend get though it. Sometimes it is easier to show what to do than to say it. "Bagley's artwork creates an emotionally resonant experience," says Kirkus Reviews, and Horn Book adds, "A welcome addition to the shelf of books about grief."