Heart in the Pocket [Hardcover]

Laurence Bourguignon (Author), Valerie D'Heur (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Mama Kangaroo loves her little Jo-Jo very much, but its time for him to grow up and leave the safety of her pocket. Jo-Jo is content where he is, even when Mama tells him about all the amazing things he could see and do if he were to explore the world. In this tender tale about growing up, sweet illustrations portray the young kangaroos fear of leaving his mother, and also the strong bond between mother and child.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3—A tale of separation anxiety, kangaroo-style. In a twist on Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny (HarperCollins, 1942), Mama Kangaroo, who "loves her little Jo-Jo a lot, lot, lot," tries to coax him out of her pouch. She shows him the beautiful things around them, like a bird and a cloud in the sky, and asks, "Wouldn't you like to be a floating cloud?" Jo-Jo has no interest—he wants to stay warm and protected in her pocket. She eases him out little by little, however, and places him gently onto the ground so that the two can bound off together to explore the world. It's okay now, because Jo-Jo knows that Mama "will always hold his heart in her pocket." The gentle, well-crafted text is sweet, but not overly so. The watercolor illustrations have a soft palette dominated by yellowish tans and light blues, and expressively portray a wise and loving mother with her shy, slightly fearful child.—Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 26 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (July 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802853439
• ISBN-13: 978-0802853431
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,682,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely story, December 12, 2011

By 

J. Austin (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart in the Pocket (Hardcover)

I enjoy this story every time I read it to my daughter. I believe I have read somewhere that this book is translated from French into English. This may explain why the language is a bit more flowery and poetic than what I normally encounter in most children's literature. The baby kangaroo, joey, is frightened to leave his mother's pocket where all is safe and warm. The mother responds to each of his fears with understanding and descriptions of the beauty and adventure that lie in the world around them. In the end the mother realizes that what joey fears most is that if he leaves her pocket her love for him will end. She warmly dissuades him from this fear and he steps out into the world ready to enjoy it on his own two feet grounded in the knowledge that his mother will always love him. Nice message about loving your children enough to let them go.

5.0 out of 5 stars A tender children's picturebook, September 7, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heart in the Pocket (Hardcover)

Heart in the Pocket is a tender children's picturebook about the unbreakable bond between parent and child. An anthropomorphic mother kangaroo adores her little Jo-Jo very much; it's time for him to grow up and venture out from the safety of her pocket, but she will always treasure him. A gentle storybook brought to life with simple, heartwarming color illustrations. "Mama Kangaroo loves her Jo-Jo a lot, lot, lot. / She sings him sweet songs. / She finds him beautiful desert flowers. // And she will always hold his heart in her pocket."