My Friend, Loonie

Representing friendship is Loonie, the large, bright yellow balloon given to a little girl by her two parents (both women) in this gentle tale. The child forms an immediate bond with this spherical object, talking to it, showing it things of interest and taking it to meet her neighbours. She even sets a place at the dining table for Loonie and positions her in the best place to see the pages of her bedtime story. Indeed the balloon goes everywhere with the girl, except school when it’s left under the watchful eye of the family dog. Loonie becomes a dancer, a homework companion and then the girl decides to show Loonie the garden. There though the balloon breaks free and soars off into the sky, gradually getting smaller and smaller.

Inevitably the child is very upset but her supportive parents suggest that she joins them in some gardening and in so doing the seed planting forms a conduit for her sadness. Eventually something grows that causes a smile to form on the little girl’s face, a bright yellow flower that brings with it warm memories. The following morning she wakes with her heart aglow and as she looks out she sees, ‘yellow in places she’d never noticed before.’ From then on, her whole world starts to regain its brightness.

A beautiful story that introduces loss in a novel way to the very young, showing that love can live on in warm memories.