In this deeply moving picture book, a girl heals from the loss of a loved one by making up funny and creative names for everything in her life.
Melanie names everything she sees and thinks and feels. She calls her big brother Mister and her least favorite dinner No Thanks. Her baby sister's nose is HONK!
Most of all, Melanie loves coming up with names that make Mister, who is sick, laugh. His hospital gown is a Daytime Slumber Party Dress. His pain is Ouch Ouch Go Away.
But then, one day, Mister dies. Are there any words to describe what it feels like to lose someone you love? Melanie cries tears that she calls Ocean Eyes. She names death Why-why-why-why-why?
As time passes, though, Melanie begins to understand that her brother is still with her: in the breeze and the stars and her dreams. And she feels the stirrings of a new emotion -- one whose only name is Peace. Devon Rohana Galarza lives in Philadelphia. When she's not writing, she works for the Free Library of Philadelphia, where she runs a citywide early literacy initiative for educators. Melanie's Names is her debut.
G. Brian Karas is the prolific, versatile, and award-winning illustrator of many books for children, including the beloved Mr. Tiffin's Classroom series and Are You Going to Be Good? by Cari Best, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. In addition, he is the illustrator of Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate, Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins, A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards, and Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming, all of which received numerous starred reviews. His author-illustrated picture book Home on the Bayou received a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. He lives in the Hudson Valley of New York.
