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In a Jar

Deborah Marcero (Goodreads Author)

4.35 · Rating details · 1,213 ratings · 265 reviews

Llewellyn, a little rabbit, is a collector. He gathers things in jars--ordinary things like buttercups, feathers, and heart-shaped stones. Then he meets another rabbit, Evelyn, and together they begin to collect extraordinary things--like rainbows, the sound of the ocean, and the wind just before snow falls. And, best of all, when they hold the jars and peer inside, they r ...more

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Hardcover, 40 pages

Published January 21st 2020 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

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Lists with This Book

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The Oldest Student by Rita Lorraine Hubbard

2021 Mock Caldecott List

115 books — 81 voters

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360 books — 86 voters

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Community Reviews

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Average rating 4.35 ·

Rating details

· 1,213 ratings · 265 reviews

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Jul 24, 2019 Toni rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019, picture-books, arcs-later-date, children

Lovely story with gorgeous artwork (the sunset spread and the meteor shower are just amazing) about friends and beautiful moments we experience together. When the main character's friend moves to a new city, he is feeling sad and empty. Luckily, he discovers they can send each other packets and parcels and share new things they see and learn. It is possible to make new friends without forgetting the old ones. Beautiful, heart-warming message.

Thank you to Edelweiss and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books fo ...more

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Mar 05, 2020 Calista rated it it was amazing

Shelves: art-lovely, bage-children, favorite, genre-beginner, x-surreal, 2020, genre-fantasy, groundbreaking, nature, want-to-own

This sweet story sparked my imagination. I loved it. It was a wonderful little beginning bit of magical realism. Llewellyn loves collecting things in jars. He fills a whole wall in a large room with memories he makes daily. He can capture a sunset in the water or the shooting stars at night. They are beautiful memories. He makes a friend, Evelyn and together they do this collecting. She moves away and they can share their memories back and forth.

It’s a beautiful story with lovely artwork. This w ...more

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Sep 25, 2019 Jamila rated it liked it

Shelves: favorites, picture-book, character-kindness-honesty-generosi, art-design-crafts, friendship, curiosity-inquiry, storytime-read-aloud

This is one of the most beautiful and inspiring picture books I’ve read.

One huge problem with it though is that it is quite close in theme and content to a previously published picture book called Juna’s Jar by Jane Bahk and Felicia Hoshino.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Child collects things in a jar. Child’s friend helps. Friend moves away. Child longs for friend. Child meets a new friend to collect things in jars. ...more

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Feb 07, 2020 La Coccinelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: children

This is a somewhat-abstract picture book about a little rabbit. His name is Llewellyn (there aren't nearly enough picture book characters named Llewellyn!) and he likes to collect things. He collects simple things, but those objects evoke complex memories. One day, while he's out collecting, he meets another little bunny named Evelyn. To remind her of a beautiful sunset, he gives her a jar full of light. From then on, they're best friends. But, one day, Evelyn has to move away. Llewellyn feels l ...more

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Feb 10, 2020 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: melancholy, lovely, children-s-picture-book, friendship, meditative

This was a very lovely little story about friendship and memory that made a perfect bed time read for our nightly story time in the "big bed" ritual.

Llewellyn, a little rabbit with fabulously absurd long ears, likes to collect things in jars. Mostly small things like stones and feathers. Then he meets Evelyn, also a rabbit, and together they begin to collect extraordinary things, like rainbows and the sound of the ocean. They fill Llewellyn's walls with these things and the reader is treated to ...more

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Jan 18, 2020 Pam Page rated it it was amazing

Shelves: picture-book

Is there anyone who has not thought of bottling a favorite moment, a favorite day, a beautiful sight? This gorgeous picture book does just that with two little rabbit characters. I can't wait to read this aloud to kids and talk about what they would bottle to share! ...more

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Jun 13, 2020 Ms. B rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020, picture

3.5 stars, magical story about Llewellyn and Evelyn who collect the sights and sounds of nature in jars.

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Jan 29, 2020 Laura Harrison rated it it was amazing

I am in love with this book. There have been many collecting "things, thoughts, etc." in jar books before. But Deborah Marcero makes this story unique and very special. The text and illustrations will give you the warm fuzzies. 100%. ...more

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Feb 25, 2020 Lata rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: auth-f, x2020-read, kids-and-ya, scifi-fantasy

This story about friendship was adorable with gorgeous images. I loved it.

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Jul 27, 2019 Andrew rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kids-picture-for-reference

In a Jar is gorgeous and sweet; what starts off as one little bunny with collections in jars blooms into a beautiful friendship when he makes a friend. Together, they collect their memories in jars, things you wouldn't think you could capture. Even when his friend moves, they will always cherish these moments together. Vivid and heartwarming. ...more

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Jan 30, 2020 Leslie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: picture-books, 2020-reads

In a Jar is a must. It is just beautiful through and through.

Llewellyn places objects in jars from places and moments he’s been. Later, when he opens them, he is transported…or rather, it is transported to him. The leaves falling in the white woods are suddenly falling about him as he sits in his room upon his bed.

Marcero moves from capturing objects into jars to moments into jar.

The “tart charry syrup” tinted waters at sunset are placed in jars, and Llewellyn gifts one to Evelyn whom he meets h In a Jar is a must. It is just beautiful through and through.

Llewellyn places objects in jars from places and moments he’s been. Later, when he opens them, he is transported…or rather, it is transported to him. The leaves falling in the white woods are suddenly falling about him as he sits in his room upon his bed.

Marcero moves from capturing objects into jars to moments into jar.

The “tart charry syrup” tinted waters at sunset are placed in jars, and Llewellyn gifts one to Evelyn whom he meets here. “And to her surprise, it glowed through the night with the memory of that sunset.”
If a memory can travel/stay with you across time, why not distance? It’s not a thought the two friends will even contemplate as they spend season capturing memories in jars. Marcero will frame scenes in jars, wordless occasions. The frames artfully arranged. She’ll sequence the meaning behind jars, the moments fairly simple, but beautifully rendered, colors deep, textured. You begin to wonder at the story behind the jars in the collection on Llewellyn’s walls.

Their collection is marvelous. The different shaped jars. The imagination/conversation it inspires.

Then Evelyn must move away. The emptiness, colorless expanse of that page following Evelyn’s departure. The line/shape in the jar echoing the ones in her speech bubble (tears/sadness) and on Llewellyn’s back as they say goodbye.

But the world is full of wonder the next pages seem to say. And it is the thought of Evelyn that moves Llewellyn from the blank black walls of his room, from the window looking out on that incredible night sky to collecting a meteor shower in a jar.

Marcero renders a new sequence of four panels, one that carries a gift from one friend to another. Here they’ll begin a new tradition of collecting and sharing jars. I love what Evelyn chooses to collect, but even lovelier is how they’re rendered on the facing page. Marcero imagination on the page is such a delight, the “bright night lights” so perfectly distributed, little squares/windows, the crowds trailing…the sounds in words, lines, shapes, bubbles, notations, their collective color red.

We learn that with finding Evelyn and then her leaving did not expand then contract Llewelyn’s world. His world only expands once again, and then again. They begin to correspond. And as he enters the autumn woods to collect leaves for Evelyn, he meets Max “Luckily, Llewellyn had brought an extra jar.”
In a Jar will be an obvious choice for a Moving book, but it’s much, much more. The objects in the jar would be mere objects if not for the memory they recall. The collection was lovely but ordinary before Llewelyn found Evelyn. Their relationship made what went into the jar all the more marvelous, extraordinary. In a Jar is very much a friendship book in a present tense; a book about memories that is about the making of them. It’s an active book, creating the memories, collecting the moments, sharing, gifting them--not a passive visitation of jars long made. It inspires not only the imagination of what would I collect, but with whom might I collect, or share, or gift?

Llewelyn seeks the beauty around him, as does Evelyn. Their relationship generates even more creative spark, each a companion in their pursuits to notice and take pleasure in “the wind just before snow falls,” or “shadows of summer.”

I’m curious what image/object would be collected in a jar had Llewelyn and Evelyn read Marcero’s In a Jar, because surely it is a pleasure, it is certainly memorable, something worth treasuring and revisiting.
...more

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Jan 23, 2020 Brian added it

The plot of this story sounds nearly identical to Juna's Jar.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/sho... ...more

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Feb 11, 2020 Lynn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adventure-books, family, animals, art, literary-fiction, boys, current-events, education, picture-books, entertainment

Two friends use jars to collect the wonders of the world. One moves away and they learn to connect by sending the miracles through the mail and making new friends.

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Feb 08, 2020 KC rated it it was amazing

Shelves: emotions, migration-relocation, friendship, imagination, picture-book, childrens, pre-school, feel-good

Darling tale of how to keep memories safe!

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Jan 27, 2020 Tasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: picture-books

Llewellyn was a rabbit who loved to collect things in jars. He collected small things from his days like bright yellow leaves in the autumn which would remind him of what he had done and seen. One night when the sunset turned the sky “the color of tart cherry syrup,” Llewellyn went down to the shore with a lot of jars. He gathered the light of the night into his jars and gave one to a girl who came by. Evelyn was amazed to find that the in the jar glowed all night long the color of sunsets. Soon Llewellyn was a rabbit who loved to collect things in jars. He collected small things from his days like bright yellow leaves in the autumn which would remind him of what he had done and seen. One night when the sunset turned the sky “the color of tart cherry syrup,” Llewellyn went down to the shore with a lot of jars. He gathered the light of the night into his jars and gave one to a girl who came by. Evelyn was amazed to find that the in the jar glowed all night long the color of sunsets. Soon the two of them were gathering all sorts of things in jars like rainbows, the sound of the ocean, and even entire seasons. Their collection got very large, until one day Evelyn’s family moved away. For some time, Llewellyn felt like an empty jar but then he had an idea. He went out one night and collected a meteor shower in a jar and sent it to Evelyn. In turn, she collected the sounds and lights of the big city she now lived in and sent it to Llewellyn. Llewellyn set out on an autumn day to gather a jar for Evelyn and that’s when he met Max, and Llewellyn happened to have a jar for him too.

Marcero sets the tone for this book right from the first page. You simply know that something amazing and magical is about to happen. She does this with simple words that children will easily follow and then also throws in lines like the sky the color of “tart cherry syrup” and “the wind just before snow falls.” Each of these lines creates a beautiful image and moment for the reader, indicating that something special is happening. This continues through the book, reminding readers that it is these moments that make life magical, whether you can bottle them or not.

The art here is tremendously gorgeous. Marcero creates pages of meteor showers, sunsets filled with birds soaring, and entire seasons on two pages that are filled with moments of wonder and amazement, and yet that are also moments we could all have and share. There’s a beautiful tension between the beauty on the page and also the normalcy of it all.

A picture book that shows everyone that these magical moments are there for us all to collect and share. Appropriate for ages 3-5. ...more

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Jan 25, 2020 Kate Gibson rated it it was amazing

As a collector of tiny things in jars this book resonated with me on a deep level! So cute! 😭😍

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Jan 24, 2020 Mark rated it did not like it

This book is a copy of Jane Bahk's book, "Juna's Jar." The work is stolen. If I could give it zero stars, I would. ...more

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Jan 21, 2020 Sabrina rated it it was amazing

The art style is right up my alley!

Very touching story <3

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Aug 31, 2020 Meredith rated it really liked it

Shelves: mock-caldecott, lesson-plan

Ooh. I kind of love it. The art teacher and I were just talking today about how we would like to try and combine lessons for virtual learning (if that's the way our district goes). This could serve that purpose. Mock Caldecott read and opportunity to draw your own jar all in one. ...more

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Jun 05, 2020 Beverly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mock-caldecott-voting, june-book-count, 2020

Read for the Mock Caldecott voting next January. Adorable book about friendship. Llewellyn, a young rabbit, likes to collect things and keep them in jars. One day as he is out collecting he meets Evelyn and introduces her to collecting things for jars. Together they collect many, many things to store in their jars and decorate their walls. Then Evelyn has to move away. They are both sad but know that they have no choice. Llewellyn decides to collect something super special and send it to Evelyn ...more

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Feb 24, 2020 Sonja Rusch rated it it was amazing

Shelves: friendship, emotions, 2020

Absolutely lovely.

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Feb 04, 2020 Heather rated it really liked it

A sweet story about friendship and remembrance, with charming illustrations.

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Feb 02, 2020 Hank Hedland rated it did not like it

Holy plagiarism Batman! Too bad this whole story is copied from another book that is a beautiful story of two young girls called Juna’s Jar.

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Sep 30, 2019 Roy Guinto rated it did not like it

Isn't this called White-washing? Cultural appropriation?

This has the EXACT same plot as the children’s book JUNA'S JAR, just replaced the child of color with a white rabbit. This isn’t ok no matter how pretty you think the pictures are. How would you explain it to a kid?

- Child collects special things in jars with her friend.
- Friend moves away.
- Child longs for her friend and copes with magic in her jar.
- Child finds a new friend to collect things with.
If this sounds appealing, read the origin ...more

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Jan 03, 2020 Edward Sullivan rated it really liked it

Shelves: picture-books

A charming, joyful story about memories and enduring friendsip.

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Jan 13, 2021 Lauren Drake rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kirkus-best-pbs-2020, picture-books, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a sweet book following a rabbit called Llewellyn who loves to collect things in jars. One day he meets another rabbit called Evelyn and from then on they collect things in jars and keep them as memories together. One day, Evelyn’s family decide to move to a new house far away from where Llewellyn lives. At first he is sad, but then he realizes that they can still share things by collecting them in jars and sending them to each other in the post. At the end of the book, a new character na ...more

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Mar 08, 2020 Shaye Miller rated it really liked it

Shelves: seasons

This book is truly one to be experienced to appreciate. Llewellyn and Evelyn meet one day while Llewellyn is out filling his jar with things he loved. After that day, they continue to collect items together -- not just objects, but fantastical items like rainbows and the wind. Their adventures follow the seasons of the year through autumn, winter, spring, and summer. Then one day, Evelyn's family moves away. But they continue to send jarred items to one another. At the very end, it's autumn and ...more

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Mar 29, 2020 Becky B rated it really liked it

Shelves: picture-books, art-picture-books, animal-picture-book

Llewellyn and Evelyn form a friendship as they collect special things they want to remember in jars. They even manage to collect seemingly impossible things to capture. When Evelyn has to move, Llewellyn is heartbroken. But is their friendship over?

I really like the way this book shares that you can keep friendships going even over distances, but it is also ok to make new friends who are right there with you at the same time. The artwork in this picture book is absolutely stunning. And the thing ...more

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Aug 25, 2020 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it it was amazing

Shelves: picture-book, nature, friendship

Llewellen collects things. In jars. Lots of things. Feathers. Stones. He meets Evelyn, and they collect things together. Things that are hard to hold. Things that they thought might not fit in a jar. But they did. And then Evelyn moves away. What will happen now to their connection of collecting things together?

Sometimes you see a book and you know it's just the book for you. This is a book that feels like it is just for me.

But here. I've collected it. In this jar. I'd love to share it with you ...more

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Nov 17, 2020 Allie rated it liked it

Shelves: mock-awards-2021, animals, animals-bunnies, picture-books, audience-children

Fine. If I had art directed this book I would have had a lot of notes!! It was cute, but I think it could have been so much more interesting with a few tweaks! Like some of the panels are just rounded quadrilaterals, but some of them are jar shaped! And others have shadows?! Pick a lane! And by pick a lane I mean pick jar shapes consistently! I like the line quality of the illustrations, and they are very cute. The story is fine, but the ending is extremely abrupt. I wouldn't read it for a story ...more

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