The Rough Patch, Illustrated and Written by Brian Lies

 Lies, B. (2019). The rough patch. Library Ideas, LLC. 

The Rough Patch, by Brian Lies, is a bittersweet story of love, loss, and healing that is sure to bring any dog lover, young or old, to the brink of tears. A heartfelt introduction to the concept of loss for children, the book follows a gardener named Evan whose world is shattered when his beloved dog passes away. In response, his grief leads him to destroy the garden that housed the happiest memories he had with his dog, until by chance one day, the joy of gardening finds him again and Evan begins to heal. 

Lies makes clever choices with his illustrations. While the text never states that Evan is an anthropomorphic fox, that is how Lies chose to draw him. I believe this provides a degree of separation to the reader, particularly young readers who may have been able to relate to Evan more if he had been a young human. This gives readers the space they need to relate to Evan’s story without it making for a traumatic reading experience. 

The use of lighting and color in the illustrations for The Rough Patch are also remarkable. At the beginning of the story, Evan’s days all appear to be all sunny, warm, cloudless ones that are filled with joy and gardening and his dog. However, when the dog passes away, Evan’s world sours, instead filling with muddy greens and blues and a pale yellow sky. Evan’s sadness has an effect on how we view the world through him. In turn, his garden fills with unpleasant weeds instead of the flowers, hedges, vegetables, and shrubs that used to make up the place that Evan and his dog shared. 

Words are used strategically and thoughtfully in this book. When Evan’s dog passes away, there is a picture of Evan kneeling next to his dog, who is curled up in his dog bed with his back to the viewer. The picture is on a white background, showing that little else matters to Evan in this moment in the story. On the opposing page are the words “But then, the unthinkable happened.” Though the next page goes on to explain that Evan buries his dog, the previous page, with its evocative imagery and minimal explanation does a lot to communicate to the reader what has happened with very little. 

As previously mentioned, this book can be used as an introduction to loss and grief for young readers. However, it is not simply a dreary, sad, grief filled book. It can also be used to show that time heals these wounds, and that the joy will return to life, even after the unimaginable occurs. By the end of the book, Evan has found joy in gardening again, and even adopted another dog. This is a story with meaning, not just a tale of loss.