Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

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Parents' Guide to

Getting Near to Baby

By Maria Strom, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Moving story of grief and recovery.

Getting Near to Baby Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

age 10+

Worth it.

Very well written. Sad story. Really good.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

The moving story line highlights the shattering effect of grief in 12-year-old Willa Jo Dean's family. It echoes Willa Jo's fragmentary process of working through grief over her baby sister's death and its debilitating effects on Mom. It also adds to the satisfaction of the family reunion at book's end. Some children may have a hard time with the sad topic and the slow pace of the story.

Willa Jo is portrayed as a spunky girl fighting to help her sister, while struggling to be of help to Mom, by living with rule-making Aunt Patty. Willa Jo sounds adult, partly as a result of the book's engaging Southern voice and partly because she's the older sister.

Book Details

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