Christopher and his dog Bodger return in this heartbreaking follow-up to their adventures in Carol and Donald Carrick's Sleep Out and Lost in the Storm. Walking down a country road near his family's summer house one evening, Christopher is there when Bodger is struck and killed, after darting out in front of a pickup truck. His anger, first at the driver, and then at his father for not being able to set things right, eventually gives way to loss and grief. After Bodger is buried the next day, Christopher goes on a canoe trip with his father, to select a head stone for his beloved dog's grave, finding some peace and healing in the process...

Published in 1976, The Accident feels a little bit dated, and not just in terms of the illustrations. I'm not really sure when it became a common practice to use a leash, when out walking one's dog, but I suspect that in the 1970s it wasn't considered as necessary as it is today, particularly in rural settings. It's quite possible that it is still uncommon in rural settings today, although hopefully not near roads. In any case, I suspect that many readers encountering the story today, especially in more urban or suburban settings, will be struck by this issue, to the detriment of the story. Of course, even in less rural settings, dogs sometimes do get off their leash, so an accident like this might indeed be something that a contemporary child might witness, and the consequent loss something they might experience.

Despite that fact (and leaving the issue of the leash aside), I still felt that the realistic depiction of Bodger dying in the road - his legs twitch, at one point - might be more graphic in nature than is appropriate for younger picture-book audiences. Children who have lost a beloved animal companion in an accident that they didn't witness might be further traumatized, while others who have not experienced such a loss might be made fearful. I did think that Carrick did a good job exploring the stages of grief through which Christopher moved, but I question whether this would be a helpful book. I'd recommend this one primarily to adult readers interested in the Carricks' work (as I am), but would suggest that if it is intended for a child reader, that some adult screen it first, to see if it is appropriate for their circumstances. ( )

I did not like this book. It made me very sad. I understand that the main idea of this book was to help discuss a difficult topic but I do not think that the author went about it the right way. Death I think is something that a child shouldn’t be trying to understand until they have experienced it. The boy was angry at first and then sad but eventually felt better and was able to think about the happy times with his dog. But this is a traumatic experience and it was written in a way that is very possible which in my opinion could scare children. I think children should be careful when they are playing when there are cars around but this does not mean that their dog should get hit by a car and die right in front of them. The author does a good job of showing the different stages of grief, but again I don’t believe a child should be reading about this or feel like they should talk about it until they have a need to because they have experienced it.

a boys dog is hit by a car and dies, this book talks about the feelings that come from pet loss and sudden accidents.

This book is about a dog that passes suddenly do to an accident and it teaches children how to deal with sudden death

“The Accident” by Carol Carrick is the story of a boy who witnesses his dog getting hit by a car. The big idea of the story is to illustrate the different stages of mourning after losing a loved one, in this case, the family pet. Although the story was sad, I think the book did a very good job at portraying the death of a pet in a very appropriate way. First, instead of focusing on how the dog died and the actual death, most of the story revolves around the little boys feelings. The author accurately describes the many aspects of a child’s grieving: fear, shock, naivety, anger, and depression. For example, the little boy could not eat or drink even his favorite foods showing signs of depression. He also believes that when his dad shows up to the scene that he could somehow make things better and bring the dog back to life, showing naivety. I also think that the author was able to appropriately address this topic through the illustrations. The pictures are dark and depressing, until the very end when the little boy comes to terms with the dog’s death and opens up to his father. At this point, the background becomes a light orange for the first time in the story. The characters are also drawn in an opaque way and turned to the side in most pictures, so readers can just barely see the sad facial expressions. I believe this allows for the reader to see the characters are sad, without being an overbearingly depressing story. ( )