A fun adventure of the tortoise and the hare, but hare goes away leaving tortoise by himself. He meets Bear and Bear teaches him to enjoy the memories he once had with hare. This could be a good book for kids who are experiencing a friend moving away

"The Hare-Shaped Hole is a beautiful, touching, and poignant picture book which gently explores themes of grief and loss." Couldn't agree more with the description of the book. Sometimes it is hard to explain your feelings when you lost someone dear. Moreover children comprehend less and couldn't express their feelings. This is a good book to offer to those who lost someone dear, so they can explore and then express their feelings better.

Only took 21 pages to have me tearing up. What a beautiful story about the multifaceted appearance of grief…and told in such a way that it was consumable and thoughtful. This book should be at every therapist/counselor/grief coaches office. (Oh and the illustrations were beautiful). It’s hard to find a book on grief that makes the story so easy to connect to. I appreciate the chance to read this one!!

The feeling that comes with losing someone is big and it's painful, no matter what type of loss it is. For a child, that can be so hard to understand. The Hare-Shaped Hole handles the subject with a delicate approach and gives a way for those experiencing loss a way to deal. The art in children's books is some of the best I've seen lately, and this is no exception. The stages of grief are pointed out however not labeled or given a lot of time to be shown as the point is what to do after. This is one that I could see being really helpful during the hard times, for not just kids but the adults too.

Genuinely devastated reading this. It was so beautiful, and depicts loss and the stages of grief so well.

I do not know how I have not read this gorgeous picture book until now. It did make me well up a bit and loss is such a difficult topic to deal with for children. This story discusses it in such a gentle and genuine way that the loss can cover a wide range of things from losing people who have dies to losing friendships. The illustrations are just so beautiful too to add to the understanding.
I loved the message of not getting over a loss but seeing the "hare shaped hole" and filling it with love and memories of that person or thing.

Yes, yes, yes. A thousand times yes. Such a beautiful and heartbreaking story with magnificent depth and hope. This book is so good at visually showing how a person can feel internally when someone in their life is no longer there. This book made me, a full grown woman, cry and have a sense of catharsis. I cannot think of a better book to help a child understand, accept and heal from something so complex and overwhelming.

Books rarely make me cry. But this one did. In the most splendid of ways.

The Hare-Shaped Hole does a wonderful job of exploring loss and is not afraid to show just how painful and raw the grieving process can be. It does an excellent job of teaching children how to cope with loss, using gorgeous and moving illustrations and lyrical verse.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Hare and turtle are the best of friends and do everything together. One day Hare is gone, and it is assumed has passed on and turtle struggles with his friend being gone. A new friend is able to help turtle move on though he will never stop missing Hare.

wow. firstly, thank you to netgalley and quarto books for the ARC.

secondly, wow.

this is a must for children who are experiencing grief or witnessing their family experience it. its beautifully written and the illustrations are stunning.

Devastatingly beautiful, would be great to use in counseling sessions with elementary students suffering from loss.

Thank you Quarto Publishing for the chance to read an Arc of this text in exchange for an honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a must read for any child coping with a loss. This is the story of two best friends who do everything together. One day suddenly one of the friends is gone and the turtle friend is left alone. He starts grieving and doesn't know how to cope. He meets a new friend who helps him understand his grief and the steps to starting to deal with the loss. This would be perfect to have on hand in the classroom for any student who suffers a loss. I will be ordering this to have on hand.

Loved this book! The lyrical quality of the writing and the pictures create a loving atmosphere to tackle the tough topic of grief. A must for any child who is experiencing grief.

This is an adorably fun tale about the hare and the turtle.

The words end in rhyme which makes for a poetic flow of reading.

The illustrations are very sweet

If the story doesn’t make you cry, the illustrations and colors on the final three pages most definitely will. Yes, it’s a story about loss, and it’s also a story about friendship and wisdom and moving on.

In this story, Hertle and Bertle were the best of friends, until, suddenly, Hertle isn’t there. The rhyming works very well, as Bertle tries to make sense of Hertle being gone.

A wonderful picture book full of wisdom and hope.

A gorgeous book that will teach your littles about grief and loss while their readers will cry ugly tears in remembrance of all those who they have lost [I know I certainly did]. Gorgeously illustrated and told in a loving and simple way that even a small child can understand, this will open up conversations about loss and grief and how to fill all the holes that are sure to come. Just fantastic. Everyone who has littles or works with littles should be reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, John Dougherty, Thomas Docherty - Illustrator, and Quatro Publishing Group/Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t stop rereading this little children’s book about grief and loss. Maybe because of losing our beloved bunny, Zuki, 18 months ago; maybe because loss is such a universal human experience.

Although an illustrated children’s book, The Hare-Shaped Hole is a lovely read for adults, too. The illustrations are so cute, and the story is told in catchy rhyme. It features a wonderful friendship, loss (which may be death, or might be an ending), and a kind outsider that teaches Bertle how to deal with his loss in a less destructive way.

I received an e-galley from Netgalley and Quarto Publishers, and fully intend to buy a hardcopy.

Grief is such a hard thing for me to handle, even as an adult. I love the way this book reminds you that it's okay to feel all the bad parts, while also remembering that so many good memories are waiting to be there for you. I'll be picking up a finished copy of this for the Littles in my life.

Gentle and yet so devastatingly brilliant.

Difficult topics broached in such a way that even the most sensitive of children will find comfort in this book.

I haven’t come across a book which explains grief, loss, and coping for young children as sensitively, empathetically, and honestly as The Hare Shaped Hole.

Through lyrical rhyming verse, the story leads the reader through the experiences of Bertle the turtle after the sudden loss of Hurtle the hare. The metaphor of the hole left behind is simple and relatable, and the character of Gerda beautifully demonstrates how to support someone coping with grief. The ending is both hopeful and pragmatic, and this would be a wonderfully supportive read for a child who is grieving, preparing for loss, questioning mortality and loss, or supporting and understanding a friend who is grieving.

Thank you to Francis Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.