The Rough Patch audiobook

I LOVE this Book. This book is amazing.I know Caldecott is about the artwork and not as much the story, but I’ve read all the books for this year and this is the best book of the year, in my opinion. It should have won. It’s one of my all time favorite books.I can’t believe how simple and easy and straight forward this is. This is a healing journey. This book touched me deeply. I recognize this journey as I have had to take it. I do want to talk about the plot. You really need to read the book, so SPOILER AHEAD *********Fox has a beautiful life with his beloved pet dog. They do everything together. Their lives are all about gardening. They are content and happy and life is good. Then, the pet dog dies. It’s straight forward and well done and sad, but the story moves on. The fox is broken by this. In a rage, he hacks apart his garden till nothing is left. Then, the weeds come and he wants the garden to feel desolate and lonely, mirroring how he feels. These weeds grow and the place looks like the Addams family. It’s depressing. (side note: I love weeds and I do love a weed garden and it can be pretty too, but I had a mix with weeds and cultivated plants.) Then a pumpkin vine comes in under the fence and fox is about to hack it up when he sees that it is weed-like. It’s viney an prickly and a little weird looking. So the plant grows and flourishes. A huge pumpkin grows and he can take it to the fair. He meets people and talks with people again and life starts to feel normal again. He begins to wake up. He wins 3rd place and he has a choice - take a 10$ prize or a puppy. He’s going for the money when he looks into the box and the last frame is see him in his truck with the puppy by his side going home. This is the healing journey y’all. I’ve been in this place of pain and wanting to suffer and experience this. I have been there and it’s so painful. Energy medicine has helped me get through these times and family too of course. Brian Lies captures this part of life perfectly. I’m so impressed. Brian Lies is going on my ‘must read list.’The kids loved the fox having a pet thing. They were very sad when the dog died and when he destroyed the garden the niece said, ‘Oh No’. They loved the puppy and the nephew got up on the bed and jumped up and down saying ‘Yes”. He was invested in this simple story. The nephew gave this 5 stars. He said he ‘feeled all the emotions in the story.’ The niece thought this was a good story and it touched her. She loved seeing the fox at the fair riding rides and having fun again. She gave this 4 stars, so high praise in our family. This is our last Caldecott Book. We have read all but the 4 I couldn’t get together. Our journey is complete. The niece is starting 3rd grade and will be reading her own books and Harry Potter as the family continues that. So, having this book be last is amazing as it’s so good. This has actually been quite a journey for me and I have loved reading to both kids. I know it will happen now and again. It’s been a blessing to read to them.This is an amazing book about the process of grief and healing and it’s important. If it’s up to me, it would be a classic story that everyone reads. It’s important to know. Peace

This is a really nice book that deals with different stages of grief. It's not overly sad and it's really easy for kids to understand. I really like that it doesn't get too complicated or preachy, and it shows the passing of time, instead of instantly replacing what was lost. The artwork was charming and colorful, which was lovely. Lastly I'd like to point out that I've seen some negative reviews, simply because the main character is anthropomorphic and has a pet. I mean honestly, if you don't like anthropomorphic animals, you really shouldn't be reading children's picture books. Anyways, I highly recommend this to kids ages 4 to 12, and anyone else who likes picture books, unless of course, you are an uptight ninny. In that case, stay away.

A beautiful story of love, loss, recovery, and new beginnings. I just loved this children's book and the bright and colorful illustrations.

I fell in love with this short picture book that celebrates gardening, respects grief and has just delightful pictures. The fox's gardening boot with the holes for his claws just charmed me to tears.

Evan and his dog do everything together. They especially love to garden together. Then his dog dies. Evan is sad and angry and lets his garden go. Among the weeds grows a pumpkin and that pumpkin helps Evan toward healing. A story about loss and recovery, with vivid illustrations.

I recently lost the best animal friend I've ever had and, after what seemed like a too-short period of grieving, adopted another pet. This book perfectly articulates the anger, the bizarre-feeling of living in the world when your friend isn't around, and the resignation to care for another one, almost without thinking about it. God, this was so lovely and made me sob in such a deep, true way.

Be prepared. The title is The Rough Patch, after all. Lies’ story follows a familiar path (“uh oh, wh-wh-what's going to happen to the dog?), but it goes deeper. The emotions are raw, but never maudlin. The illustrations are significant*, telling the story eloquently and rewarding close and repeated viewing. So, while you might find the rough patches challenging, stick with the book. It ends in a good place. *In fact, IMO The Rough Patch should be on a short list for The Caldecott Award, the criteria for which is: 1. Excellence of execution in the artistic technique employed;2. Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept;3. Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept;4. Delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures;5. Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience.

This is a book I needed even as a 20 year old. I just lost my cat a few weeks ago, and this book was fitting for me. It shows how we act when we are grieving the death of someone we love, and beautiful but sad symbolism at the state of his garden as he goes through it... and that once we heal more, we can once again create, grow, and love. Incredibly touching for anyone who gets a chance to read it.

SHELVED AS DON'T READ AT THE DESK BECAUSE YOU'LL CRY. What a great book. Grief is something that should and ultimately must be honored, one way or another. There is no time limit on it. It doesn't matter who you lose or how long you've known and loved them. It doesn't even matter if it's a pet. Sit with your grief. Let it grow around you. Tend to it carefully, even though it is prickly and bad-smelling and not nice to look at.It will never be the same, but good things will grow again.

Unexpectedly losing something close to you can launch you into a turbulent and dark journey, which can often be overshadowed with sadness with it looking and feeling as if there is no hope to be found. Lies explores this tremendously well in 'The Rough Patch' never underestimating the emotional intelligence and ability of the reader. Evan, an anthropomorphic fox who loves to garden, falls into a cruel darkness when his best friend, a dog, sadly passes away. The sudden harshness of the breathtaking illustrations completely hit me as a reader and I felt extreme sadness for this character. Evan's garden begins to overgrow into something ugly and brutal which is a reflection of how lost he is and I completely emphasised with him. Now, I cry at books... a lot... not even when they are sad! However, Lies' talented exploration into just how hard it can be to deal with the lose of something and the brutal and hard emotions that can come with this had me in complete tears. What made it worse was when hope started to gradually creep in- much like it does in real life. I felt genuinely happy for Evan knowing that he was making his own way out of that rough patch. This story is extremely touching, beautiful and clever. It showcases how grief can be both a sudden and gentle process which should not be rushed or hidden.

Bittersweet picture book for the preschool - 3 crowd about love, loss, and moving on. Evan does everything with his dog and is completely devastated when he dies. He rips up the garden in one of his miserable moments only to find a reason to leave some of his grief behind and discover hope at the County Fair. Great book for some great discussions. Just have a k.leenex handy