The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole & SMOOT the Rebellious Shadow

A Review of “SMOOT the Rebellious Shadow” & “The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole” by Michelle Cuevas

​I was recently given the opportunity to review SMOOT – A Rebellious Shadow, and The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole by Michelle Cuevas.

These two wonderful books are my first introduction to the author, Michelle Cuevas, but now that I know her writing I will be tracking down all her other books.

These Books Turn Shadows & Darkness Into Comforting Places

Both books are absolutely beautiful. Michelle Cuevas has a gift for turning shadows and darkness into not-so-dark and comforting places. Children will be reassured and inspired by her stories and you will probably want copies to keep for yourself!

Smoot – A Picture Book That Celebrates Joy

Smoot – A Rebellious Shadow is a wonderful picture book about a boy who neglects to embrace the beauty around him and so his shadow goes of to show him how to enjoy life and be joyful. All the other shadows join in and when at last the shadow returns to his boy, the world is a lot happier for the adventure, and so is the boy.

This is a wonderful story for any child. The illustrations wonderfully support the story and remind me of classic illustrations in the picture books our grandparents shared with us when we were little. This is definitely a book to share with your little ones. Even my teenagers loved it!

The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole – An Indescribably Beautiful and Touching Story for Children and Adults

The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole is a beautifully written, heartfelt story of a girl as she finds her way back to the love she has for her little brother and her mom. Stella Rodriguez, age eleven, misses her father and while searching for a way to memorialize him in the stars, she finds a pet back hole. The adventure that ensues takes Stella on a journey back through time that leads her to a way to find peace and happiness.

A bit of the Science of Astronomy is woven into the story including…

• the speed of starlight
• the distance of the closest star to eath
• the physics of black holes

Mysteries abound in the story like:

• what is happening at NASA that causes a major emergency?
• why are things disappearing right before people’s eyes?
• and the biggest mystery of all, why does Stella miss her father and how can she save her family with the bathtub and some garden gnomes?

This is a story about coping with the loss of a father interwoven with astronomy and jokes and riddles. This book is fantastic for any age – even though it is written for children ages ten to thirteen with just enough vocabulary to stretch their reading skills a bit.

As my teenage son said upon finishing the story, “Ms. Cuevas poured all her grief at the loss of her step-father into creating this fantastic story about a girl who has adventures through time with her little brother and a pet black hole. She used that energy to make a masterpiece that will help other people find a way through their own grief. It is a beautiful book!”

What better endorsement could you get?

Michelle Cuevas is one of the best writers I have ever encountered! Children will be inspired to write themselves and these books are so good I will be purchasing them for presents for everyone I know!

Interview with The Author, Michelle Cuevas

Were you afraid of the dark when you were little?

I’m not sure I was ever technically afraid of the dark (except the few time I accidentally watched a scary movie). I’d say I was, (and am), just more easily-scared in the dark. The whole “what’s-that-noise-it’s-probably-a-monster!” feeling gets heightened when the lights are off. I’ve found the best strategy is to get a pet. I have an 84-pound Bernese Mountain Dog who snores. Any weird noises in the dark I say to myself, “oh, it’s probably just our gigantic dog.”

What can aspiring writers do as children?

I think the best thing aspiring young writers can do is really notice the world around them, and start keeping a journal or notebook about it. Write down ideas, descriptions of things, lines from an overheard conversation, lines of poetry, anything really. I keep notebooks like this with me all the time. When I’m writing a story, and I’m stuck for a description or idea, I’ll often leaf through and something I’ve written in my notebook will spark an idea.

Another way to work your writer muscles is to play with works. I have a game I play when I visit schools. I’ll write a list of words on one side of the board. Words like “a morning,” and “a sunset,” and “a laugh.” Then I have the students make a list of nouns. Anything really – they could write melted ice cream, raspberries, constellation… anything works. Then I write a phrase after the first words. Like:

A morning the color of…

The students have to pick one of their nouns. The goal is to be creative. This makes poetry, phrases like “a morning the color of raspberries,” or “a sunset with shades of melted ice cream,” or “a laugh that sounds like a constellation.” We’ll do ten or twenty of these. I’m always impressed with the results!

Have you ever had a hamster as a pet?

I’ve never had a hamster, but I did have a few rabbits as a child. They were named Peter, Thumper, and Cocoa. None of them had any odor problems that I recall. I used to walk them up and down our street in a baby carriage meant for a doll. I like to think they enjoyed the change of scenery.

How do you decide on a book dedication? This one was very touching!

Is everyone as intrigued by book dedications as I am? When I read a book, I love imagining who the people are in the dedications, why did the author choose them? I often think about themes of my books when I write a dedication to a specific person. Last year I wrote a book called The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, about a man with no name, who delivered all the bottles found with messages inside. I decided my dedication should reflect the feelings in the story, so it read:

For the Ocean Bottle Senders and Ocean Bottle seekers:

Try. Want. Wish. Tell

In The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole, my dedication is to my stepfather, Eddie. He raised me from a very young age, and always believed I could do anything I wanted, including being a writer. He passed away a few years ago, and so I began writing about my feelings. The result was Stella and her journey through the stages of grief with her pet black hole. I think writing about hard things in our lives helps us understand ourselves in a new way. It can be very cathartic.

When will you write another story?

I have a picture book coming out next year called The Town of Turtle about a turtle doing some shell renovations that get out of hand. It’s illustrated by Catia Chien. I’m working on two new novel ideas – one is a romance, the other a buddy story. I’ll be sure to stop by again when they’re finished!

Author Bio

Michelle Cuevas graduated from Williams College and holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Virginia. She is the author of several children’s books, including Confessions of an Imaginary Friend and The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles. She lives in Berkshire County in Massachusetts

Illustrator Bio

Sydney Smith was born in Nova Scotia and has a BFA in drawing and printmaking from NSCAD University. He is an award-winning children’s book illustrator whose work can sometimes also be found in magazines and on festival posters and album covers. Sydney also plays a little banjo, stands on his hands, and can ride his bike really fast. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and baby son

Book Details from the Publisher

SMOOT: A REBELLIOUS SHADOW

Smoot the shadow has been living a yawn-filled life for years. His boy never laughs and never leaps, so Smoot never does either… until the day he pops free and decides to hit the road in search of the life he dreams about. And as he enjoys his first colorful day–singing, dancing, and playing–other shadows watch him, and they become brave too. The frog’s shadow takes the shape of a prince, the dragonfly’s shadow that of a dragon. Even the rock’s shadow gets in on the excitement. But what will become of the timid beings their shadows have left behind? Will they finally be inspired to find their own daring?

Reminiscent of the classic story of Peter Pan, both in its use of shadows and celebration of imagination, SMOOT is the perfect representation of the desire we all have to “sing canary-yellow songs” and “dance in wildflower red.” This remarkable picture book’s uplifting message is sure to inspire readers to break free from the mold and live their lives to the fullest.

Smith’s stunning illustrations, which are a seamless complement to Cuevas’s poetic verses, beg to be shared in read-aloud settings and during bedtimes routines. Offering a light-hearted and important lesson about the value of imagination, being brave, and following your dreams, SMOOT has all of the makings of a modern fairy tale and is bound to become a read-aloud favorite.

 

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF A PET BLACK HOLE

When eleven-year-old Stella Rodriguez shows up at NASA to request that her recording be included in Carl Sagan’s Golden Record, something unexpected happens: A black hole follows her home, and sets out to live in her house as a pet. The black hole swallows everything it touches, which is challenging to say the least – but also turns out to be a convenient way to get rid of those items that Stella doesn’t want around including, all the reminders of her dead father that are just too painful to have around. It’s not until Stella, her younger brother, Cosmo, the family puppy, and even the bathroom tub all get swallowed up by the black hole that Stella comes to realize she needs to face her grief head on.

Successfully combining science-fiction and the raw emotions of grief, THE CARE AND FEEDING OF A PET BLACK HOLE is a story that will stand out to readers in terms of both its ingenuity and poignancy. In the same way that Pixar’s Inside Out personified its protagonist’s emotions, the representation of Stella’s grief in the form of a very real black hole that follows her home allows for equally moving, comedic, and memorable moments in Cuevas’s latest novel.

In addition to opening up opportunities to discuss grief and emotion, teachers and parents will also be fans of the real scientific elements that Cuevas has incorporated into this story. While many elements of the book are fantastical, Cuevas has included real physics and astronomy components which will allow this book to be incorporated into STEM-themed lesson plans.