Forever or a Day by Sarah Jacoby

Forever or a Day

Sarah Jacoby, Author and Illustrator

Chronicle Books, Fiction, Mar. 27, 2018

Suitable for Ages: 3-6

Theme: Time, Child’s experience, Love

Opening: If you look closely you can see it. You can almost touch it.

Book Jacket Synopsis:  What is it? It is a drumbeat. It is a wildly wagging tail. Perhaps it is a ghost. Sometimes people pay a lot of attention to it.  The more you try to hold it…the better it hides. Where does it go? Is it forever, or a day?

In a poignant conversation as elegant as a poem and as perfectly paced as a mystery, Sarah Jacoby captures the paradox of time. At once individual and universal, measured and unbounded, fleeting and eternal, time tells us how to live — and how to love.

Why I like this book:

Reading Sarah Jacoby’s Forever or a Day is an experience to savor with a child. It is a magical journey into the endless mystery of time.  Children and adults will ponder its meaning and what makes it so special, because you can blink and miss it. Time is fleeting and is the biggest riddle in life.

Jacoby’s book is a quiet and contemplative story. It would be a good way to practice mindfulness and appreciate living in a moment that will quickly slip away. It includes cherished moments of sharing breakfast with parents, visiting with loved ones, building castles in the sand, fishing from a peer, watching a sunrise or sunset.  And it is about love.

Jacoby’s prose is lyrical and heartfelt. Her stunning and soft watercolors capture a child on a journey with his family, a beautiful sunrise, shooting stars in the night sky, the lights of a city at night and the love of family. I highly recommend her timeless book for all ages.

Sarah Jacoby grew up wandering the woods outside of Philadelphia. She has since earned degrees in both English Literature and Illustration. She now draws for many people and places, including the New York Times.  Her illustrations have won awards from the Society of Illustrators (Gold Medal), American Illustration, Creative Quarterly, and Communication Arts.Learn more about Sarah Jacoby at her website.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.