Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lilly [Hardcover]

Nancy White Carlstrom (Author), Amy Schwartz (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

When her best friend, an old lady named Miss Lilly, passes away, Sara learns that the memory of a loved one never dies.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2 --A beautifully executed story of a young girl's response to the death of an elderly friend. Miss Lilly and her cat Snug live across the street from Sara, who spends a great deal of time there talking, helping tend the flowers, and making plum jelly. Whenever it's time for Sara to leave, she and Miss Lilly blow kisses as their special way of saying they will always be friends. When Miss Lilly becomes ill, Sara makes a get-well card in which she writes, "Blow me a kiss, Miss Lilly!" Her friend dies and Sara is terribly sad. Caring for Snug helps, and when spring comes, seeing Miss Lilly's garden blooming reminds Sara of their wonderful times together. Filled with the everyday details of friendship, Carlstrom's story is told in terms young children can understand. Deceptively simple, the language evokes deep emotion and vivid imagery. Schwartz's jubilant ink-wash illustrations capture the childlike innocence and serve as the perfect complement to the story. The vibrant greens, blues, and pinks add to the undeniably joyous quality of the illustrations. A thoughtful balance between text and illustrations completes the visual appeal. With its reassuring, positive message, this book will undoubtedly help many children understand the grieving process. --Denise Anton Wright, Library Book Selection Service, Inc., Bloomington, IL
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harper & Row; 1st edition (1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060210125
• ISBN-13: 978-0060210120
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,010,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy White Carlstrom started writing when she was seven years old and has been writing ever since. She says, "I write when I am happy and when I am sad, and especially when I celebrate God's creation. When you read This Is the Day, I hope it will cause you to look at your world and be surprised by wonder every day of the week."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful read-aloud!!!!!!, September 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lilly (Library Binding)

This is a wonderful book for teachers to read aloud in the primary grades and probably higher. I happened to pick it up to read orally to my first graders, just to fill a few minutes, and my heart was captivated. Definitely, a special book about aging.

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely wonderful, April 15, 2011

By 

kandy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lilly (Hardcover)

I seldom write reviews but just had to voice my thoughts about this sweet book. It is so powerful and brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. I am a first grade teacher and I let my students know before I read that it is a sad story but I use this chance to explain to them that when a book can make us laugh or cry, it is a sign of a great author! I always tell my first graders to be good to old people and this story brings the point home--it is absolutely beautiful. It was purely chance that I ever first read it and I am oh so glad I did!

5.0 out of 5 stars Reveiw of Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lilly, January 18, 2005

By 

BlazinBBC "BlazinBBC" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lilly (Library Binding)

Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lilly is a wonderful book about a young girl name Sara, who is best friends with an elderly lady named Miss Lilly. Miss Lilly just so happens to live across the street from Sara in a small white house. Sara and Miss Lilly share numerous interests and enjoy one another's company. One day Miss Lilly becomes ill and eventually dies, which is hard on Sara. Losing a best friend is hard. After grieving a while Sara comes to know that Miss Lilly will always be with her through her memories and this comforts Sara and allows her to move on. The subject matter of this beautifully written story includes friendship, old age, and death.

The book contains some upper level words such as lavender, afghan, bouquets, etc. It also contains so long words that might prove to be difficult for some students these include neighborhood, remembered, magnifying, etc. Despite these large and possibly difficult words I feel depending on individual students abilities this book would be suitable for 1st or 2nd grade readers. It might even potentially be suitable for an excelling kindergartener. If read aloud by the teacher this book would undoubtedly be suitable for all students grades k-2 or even higher.

The book is 30 pages long, but consists of only 16 pages that have written text. The other 14 pages contain pictures only. The length of the book would probably be best suited for students in k or 1st grade, however would be a delightful little book for 2nd graders to enjoy as well. Upper level kindergarten reader should have no troubles with the length of the book as well average first grade readers should have no trouble with the length either. The length of the book would be perfect for an after recess story time or a fifteen to twenty minute story time and discussion.

The text consists of several lines and/or paragraphs per page. I don't feel an average first grade reader would have any anxiety over the amount of text per page. Beautifully illustrated pictures nicely complement the text. While some pictures are small others are large. All are wonderfully detail and contain a wide array of eye-catching colors. The illustrator worked beautifully with the stories text to create pictures that complement the text and enable young readers a visual of the story they are engaged in.

The developmental level of this text can vary. This book could be developmentally appropriate for various grade levels depending on the maturity of the students as well as the context for which the literature work is presented. As a prospective teacher myself I would probably use this book in the first or second graders for I feel over all that students in these grades on average are developmentally ready for the content of this book. If I felt as though I had a class that might not be ready to engage in this serious of a topic on their own I would use this book at a whole class level. I might even use this book under certain circumstances at the kindergarten level, however I feel I would read it too the class and engage my students in a guided discussion as to be right their to support my students through any emotions they my be feeling.

This book contains the diversity factor of age. Miss Lilly is an elderly lady, where as her friend Sara is a young child. It might be reading into it too much, but there may be a possible income diversity present in the story since Miss Lilly's house is continually referred to as the little white house. This is just a speculation of possible diversity, however. The book does not contain any diversity such as ethnicity, race, disability etc.

This book contains content that can be used over and over again. It can be used with different students and/or different classes. The themes of this book friendship, old age, and death will always be a part of human culture. This book is well worth the cost. The content is moderately specialized.

This book can be used on a therapeutic level for students who have lost an elderly friend and/or neighbor. Depending on the situation and availability of books this book might be suitable to help students cope with the loss of an elderly relative as well. This book does a wonderful job of telling the reader about the bond between Miss Lilly and Sara. It also allows shows the reader how Sara dealing with the loss of her best friend the elderly neighbor across the street, Miss Lilly. Through this book students would be able to read about and think about how Sara coped after Miss Lilly's death and relate it to their own life.

The book Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lilly is a very touching book. It is a book of friendship, old age versus youth, and death. The book is well-written and exceptionally illustrated to make in all a wonderful children's book with a therapeutic theme.