The Tear Thief

By Carol Ann Duffy

Book Overview

The mysterious fairy-like Tear Thief, visible only as a reflection in a puddle, creeps into town at night, listening for the sound of crying. She snatches a tear from a boy in the bathtub, many from a girl in a tantrum, and some from fighting twins. In her collecting sack, the tears are jewels, colored according to their cause, but the most valuable are the tears of real sadness. When the Tear Thief passes a girl crying these tears, the girl sees her in a puddle and asks about why she collects them. The Tear Thief tells her that the light of the moon is made of tears, but the most beautiful light comes from the tears of sadness. The girl is crying because she has lost her dog. When she finds it and goes home, she sees the beauty of the moonlight and remembers the Tear Thief. Ceccoli's acrylic paintings fill the double pages with visual poetry, quiet scenes of city streets and rooftops along with an infrequent room with crying child. The smoothness of the paintings, mainly with shades of blue backgrounds, creates a hush. There is a strange magic over the story, with possible meanings to ponder Magical, moving and memorable, this book offers an ideal way of talking to children about their feelings. Ages: 4-9 Colour illustrations

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1846866227
• ISBN13: 9781846866227
• Release Date: October 2011
• Publisher: Barefoot Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.8" x 0.3" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 4

Customer Reviews

A fun and pretty book to read

The illustrations and the intriguing title attracted me to this book. The story is a little strange and I worried it might scare the kids, but it didn't. So we use this story to tease the kids about the Tear Thief coming when they start to get fussy. The kids seem to really enjoy this book, and the illustrations are very pretty.