Beneath
Cori Doerrfeld
Scallywag Press

Huddled beneath a quilt in the middle of the bed, Finn is having a dreadful day. Grandpa wants to talk about it but Finn, certain his Grandpa won’t understand remains obdurate. Grandpa suggests a walk and reluctantly the boy agrees, insisting that he stays under the quilt. “Don’t worry,” says Grandpa. “I’ll remember to think of what’s beneath.”

Off they go into the forest and soon Grandpa starts pointing out instances where what’s on the surface conceals hidden complexities – the trees with their subterranean root systems; the wealth of sea life below a fishing boat offshore; the eggs beneath the mother bird sitting in her nest, seeds within a fruit and skeletons inside animals, for example.

“Everyone is more than what you see. Beneath appearances are experiences. Beneath actions are explanations. Beneath what’s different is what’s the same,” he says in response to Finn’s question about inside and outside.

By now Finn has emerged from the quilt and Grandpa draws everything together. “Beneath someone who looks like they won’t understand… is someone who knows exactly how you feel.”

Now reluctant to return home, Finn wraps his quilt around Grandpa and together they climb to the top of the hill and there it’s Finn’s turn to make a reassuring remark to Grandpa.

In one of Cori Doerrfeld’s vibrantly coloured illustrations towards the end of this beautiful story, she reveals that both characters have shared the same serious loss, whom we infer is the maker of the quilt, Finn’s Gramma.

A beautifully crafted, penetrating story of understanding, empathy and acceptance.