Title: The Path
Author/Illustrator: Bob Staake
Published By: Astra Books for Young Readers, 2021

So, it’s almost the end of another school year. Can you believe it? Wasn’t it just March Break?!

I feel like this year has been insanely fast, and now we’re staring down another summer. And you know what that means, right?

Emotional books for the end of the year. You know, Oh The Places You’ll Go, A Letter to my Teacher, Last Day Blues…those books. The ones that make you cry when you read them to your class.*

I sort of thought The Path would be somewhat the same, and I was sort of, somewhat right. Let me explain!

The book is about a little boy who ends up walking down a path that is mostly calm and quiet, but occasionally gets bumpy and scary and difficult. And the path even goes into a dark cave and seems like it might end. But it doesn’t, and the boy continues on.

Y’know, like life. Sometimes it’s bumpy and hard, sometimes it’s easy, sometimes June is like “a busy month? Girl, you haven’t seen busy. You thought MAY was busy? Hold my beer.”

Just me? Sorry. Back to the book.

Okay, so the comparison to life as a path was good. Also, I liked the art a lot. It’s beautiful and varied and complements the text perfectly. So what’s the problem?

The book just feels like it ends too soon. Like, the boy is walking the path, good. It gets hard, true. That happens. Then he continues and the bad days pass, wonderful. Okay, so he’s back onto a path with various possibilities in front of him and then…the book ends with him walking off the path and making his own path.

But…what?

I want to know more. I want to see where the boy goes, I want…something else. I felt let down, truthfully. The rest of the book was so pretty and got me feeling some feelings about paths and life and how people walk them and the hardships we don’t always know our friends are facing and…then it just feels like it ends too soon.

The other thing: I would read this to an older class. Grade 4+, probably. Why? Because everyone should read picture books. Also, I think the older kids would get a deeper meaning out of this story. The little guys would need a discussion to go along with it. (And it would be your teacherly duty to explain that this book illustrates life as a path. Then you’d have to explain it’s a figurative path and, “No Logan, not a literal path.” Then things would get totally off track, and you’d say, “What’s that? Your grandma has a path in her garden? Ava, your grandma doesn’t have a garden? Aiden, your grandma died last year? Okay, well, I’m sorry to hear that. Oh what? You didn’t like her because she was mean? Well, I’m still sorry. Back to the book.”)

Have a lovely summer. More reviews soon.

Jess’ rating: B+

* Back, many years ago, when I was young and foolish, I though I’d be a teacher. Well, truthfully, I took a degree in education because my parents wanted me to have a stable job because “being a writer isn’t a real job.” (Yes, kids, it is.) I practice-taught for three years in grades JK/SK, one and five. They were all delightful and challenging classes for different reasons. One thing I dreaded was reading the end-of-the-year story. Or Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. My first graders always tried to sneak that into the reading pile. Not today, first graders. Ms. B has her limits, and openly sobbing in front of you, traumatizing you for life, is a line she shall not cross.