I have a complicated love/hate relationship with The Cat Who went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth. On one hand, this 1931 Newberry Award Winner is still my favorite children's story. The story still reads as intended-- there are no dated writing anachronisms, the mixture of poetry and prose still melodically breaks up the chapters, and the illustrations are still breath-takingly beautiful.
And believe it or it's not-- the book called The Cat who went to Heaven isn't actually about experiencing and mourning the loss of a dear pet cat.
Oh, I know-- I can practically hear you thinking: I'm not reading a book about the death of a pet cat.
And I don't blame you. The "Death of a Pet" trope is frequently employed by tear-jerking coming-of-age or a loss-of-innocence stories that want to manipulate your precious tears right out of your cynical eyeballs.
This isn't an emotionally manipulative story, but there's my "on the other hand" part of this review: On the other hand, I cry every single time I read this story from start-to-finish.
But unlike those other stories, this one is so worth it.