This Week's Children's Pick: 'Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie'

I had heard wonderful things about Julie Sternberg’s book, "Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie" and, let’s face it, any book with the word “pickle” in the title has got to be good. So I made a bee-line for the Storyteller bookstore in Lafayette. Like many other books I’ve loved, I was initially drawn to the cover art (by Matthew Cordell)  – with its simple illustration of a little girl writing a letter. What I could never have imagined is how utterly sweet and touching the book inside would be.

Sternberg has created, in this 128 page book, an unforgettable character in Eleanor as she suffers through the loss of her beloved babysitter Bibi. When Bibi moves to Florida to be with her father, Eleanor struggles through various stages of grief and ultimately learns to accept and love her new babysitter who will never truly replace Bibi, but just might be able to forge new pathways of friendship with this darling little girl.

Written in a simple, almost poetic way, "Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie" speaks beautifully to the emotions of a child who has suffered a loss and will certainly serve that magical literary purpose that books so rarely do: making a child feel better and smile through tears.

For more children's book suggestions, visit: mymamasgoodnight.com.