A beautiful and touching story by William Joyce about a young man who finds meaning to his life through books. When his personal world and literary world is destroyed by a storm (Katrina, Wizard of Oz reference), he is forced to start over again when he follows a beautiful young woman floating towards the sky. She hands him a book on her way towards what appears to be heaven. He finds himself at a beautiful library and dedicates his life to these books. The passage of time and seasons is beautifully depicted. At the end of the story he says goodbye to his book friends and floats off much the same way the young woman he met did, having changed to a handsome young man. The books grieve for him, but are relieved to see a young girl discover them at some point in the future. Although Ivy cannot appreciate all the literary references, connections to the cycle of life, and the transformative power of the written word, something about it speaks to her. We did watch a lovely 14 minute animated film based on the book. She was captivated by the images, but it was a silent film. I loved it!
