Why Do We Cry?
Why Do We Cry?
Mario had been quiet all morning. His mother sat patiently beside him. Finally, in a small near-whisper, the little boy asked: “Mom, why do we cry?”
She thought about it for a moment, then answered: “We cry for a lot of reasons, Mario. Sometimes we cry because the sadness we feel is so great that we just can’t contain it.
Other times, we cry because we’re full of anger and we need to let it out, like a storm cloud releases rain. After that, we become lighter, just like the cloud.”
Mario’s mother continues to explain examples of why one might cry, including, for example, loneliness, pain, or challenges one must overcome. Eventually, she explains that there doesn’t always need to be a reason and that’s okay, and sometimes the reason for crying is actually from happiness. While some of the reasons may be a bit metaphorical for children, they’ll nevertheless resonate with adults and will create helpful discussion points. The beautiful full-spread illustrations feature whimsical animals and creatures and focus on a different colour scheme for each reason that is discussed. The illustrations are easily the highlight of the book and make the poetic words transcend into something meaningful. Like the text, some of the illustrations are rather metaphorical, and it is not immediately clear what they represent, but, again, they will help create interesting discussion around their meaning.
This picture book is so important right now with today’s children. As mental health issues rise, more and more parents are coming into libraries looking for books that talk about feelings, and Why Do We Cry? is an excellent book to recommend. What is perhaps my favourite aspect of the book is that it features a male child asking about crying. The helpful answers his mother gives him trample the stigma surrounding males and crying and reinforce the message that it is okay for everyone to cry.
Stephanie Johnson is a graduate of the Master of Library and Information Studies Program from the University of Alberta and is the Director of Devon Public Library in Devon, Alberta.