Andrea Spalding, iIlustrated by Ruth Ohi,
Bottled Sunshine
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2005. 

Rating: E*

Sammy’s holidays are about to end and he is sad to say good-bye to his favourite places. Grandma suggests that "…it’s time to bottle some sunshine to take back with you". Together they search out the sunniest blackberry patch carefully avoiding the bees and the prickles. Working alongside one another they make bottled sunshine - also known as blackberry jam. Once back at home Sammy finds a special spot in his closet for his treasure. During the fall and winter Sammy gets back into school and sports, soon his special bottle is forgotten about. One winter day his family receives a phone call to say that Grandma has died. While Sammy and his Mom are revisiting the fun times Sammy shared with his Grandma he remembers his bottle on the shelf.

 Ohi’s full page and sometimes double page illustrations vividly record Sammy’s special holiday time with his Grandma. Each illustration features  something purple or mauve in it. Sometimes it is a piece of clothing like Grandma’s purple dotted pants or Sammy’s purple sweatshirt. It is also the colour of the blackberry jam on both Sammy and his Mom’s lips as they enjoy some of the bottled sunshine which has been spread on their toast.

This endearing story which is so aptly captured by the watercolour illustrations is a book for parents to share with their children. It provides common ground to discuss love, loss, grief and the lasting comfort of memories.

Thematic Links: Family Relationships; Death; Grief and Seasons

Suzanne Finkelstein
Vol. 11, number 2
December 2005

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.