Harry & Hopper

This book is about a little boy dealing with the death of his dog. At night he dreams that his dog is still there like it were real. They would play, run, and laugh together. As nights go by, he feels that Hopper is colder and more distant. He then finally says goodbye to his dog. It is an

Show More

extremely sad book.

Show Less

Harry and Hopper, Harry’s dog, adore each other. Then Hopper dies while Harry is at school. Harry misses his dog very much and wishes he could have told Hopper goodbye. Then Hopper begins to visit Harry each night. They play together and, when morning comes, Hopper disappears. Every night,

Show More

however, Hopper becomes less and less solid, and less and less warm. Knowing it will be the last time he sees Hopper, Harry tells Hopper goodbye.

A gentle story. A lovely way to let go of a beloved pet.

“In the middle of the night,
something woke him up.
He turned over---and there,
leaping at the window, was a
dog. A dog as jumpy as
a grasshopper!

Harry sprang off the sofa and
ran to the back door. He flung
it open.

‘Hopper!’ he cried. ‘You’ve
come back!’”

Show Less

I loved the pictures but it made me very sad when he came home and his dog wasn't there to greet him.

A tearjerker for sure but a comforting story to share with a child who has lost a beloved pet.

Prolific Australian children's author Margaret Wild, whose work ranges from young adult verse-novels such as One Night, to dystopian picture-books like Woolvs in the Sitee, turns her attention here to that perennial childhood problem: the death of a pet. Hopper, so named because he was "as jumpy as

Show More

a grasshopper" when he first came to live with his humans as a young puppy, was Harry's constant and loving companion. Until, that is, the day that Harry came home and learnt that he had been killed in an accident. Unable to process the news, or to grieve, Harry isolates himself for a time, until a series of ghostly visits allow him the opportunity to say goodbye....

Chosen as the 2010 Kate Greenaway Medal winner, Harry & Hopper features the lovely charcoal, gouache and watercolor artwork of Freya Blackwood - it was Blackwood's illustrations, as it happens, that drew me to this book, as I have been trying to track down as much of her work as possible, after being immensely impressed by the paintings in The Selkie and the Fisherman - artwork which manages to convey both the joyful movement of its canine and human characters, and the pathos of their parting. It also features a moving story that deftly captures that special bond between boy and dog, and the poignancy of unexpected loss. That said, I do think a little caution is advised, for those thinking of using this book as a form of bibliotherapy. The fact that Hopper comes back for a few ghostly visits might cause some confusion for very young children, or possibly lead to hopes that something similar might occur, in their case. With that caveat in mind, I would still recommend this one as a moving, thoughtful children's story about learning to say goodbye, after the loss of a animal companion.

Show Less

Harry & Hopper was about a relationship of a boy and his dog. Harry and Hopper did everything together. These two were the best of friends. One day Harry came home to find out Hopper has died. In the end, Harry made peace with Hopper's death. This is a great book to read to children about death,

Show More

and how to handle it. This book shows that death is hard, but one can come to terms with it.

Show Less

I thought this book was okay. There were things I liked and things I did not like. The thing I did not like is towards the end of the story after Harry's dad tells him Hopper has passed away and his dad buried him, it appears Hopper comes back. For example on one of the pages it says Hopper was

Show More

jumping on the window and woke Harry up in the middle of night. It goes on for a few pages saying they played and wrestled. It repeats for a few nights. It never actually says that it was a dream and I believe this can be confusing.

The thing I liked about this book is the illustrations. On the pages before Hopper dies the backgrounds are light and the illustrations are happy. For example on the second page the illustrations are of Hopper and Harry playing and the colors are bright greens, reds, and blues. Then once Hopper passes away the colors get darker and the backgrounds get darker.

The main idea of this story is that even though someone passes away they can live in your heart forever.

Show Less

I love Freya Blackwoods illustrations. Her loose Scribbly style with this book complemented by subtle watercolour. I’m an adult and this is a kid’s book but I get a little tired of kids books that are a bit too didactic. In this case it is dealing with the death of a pet. But... give me a bit

Show More

more magic. I REALLY wanted Hopper to come back to life.... not just as a dream. There are lots of books out there now .... really written to instruct more than entertain: gay couples with kids, death of a parent, the migrant kid, the coloured kid etc etc, frankly, I find them slightly tedious... even when illustrated in the most delightful way as with this book. I really bought the book for the illustrations and they are magnificent. If I was just scoring the illustrations it would be 5 stars but found the story a bit of a let-down.

Show Less

As someone who recently lost a beloved pet, this book brought tears. Harry and Hopper are the best of friends. Received when he was a little boy, Harry's dog goes wherever he goes. As a puppie, they ran together, played ball together, and while Hooper begins the night at the bottom of the bed, he

Show More

ends at the top on a pillow with Harry.

One day, Harry arrives home and does not hear the familiar sound of Hopper's eager bark. His father gently tells him Hooper had an accident and is no longer with them.

Devastated, Harry cannot sleep in his own bed because he misses Hooper so much. His father allows him to sleep on a couch in the dimly lit living room. The first night, Harry feels as though Hooper is visiting him. But, the second night, Harry is alone. He goes to the back door and sees Hooper under the window. When he carries Hooper, he realizes he is very weak. Harry carries him to the top of the bed, and it is there he says goodbye to his very special pet.

The illustrations are lovely with facial expressions that match the emotions. This is a lovely story of a boy and his dog and his loving father.

Show Less