A Hmong family in St. Paul, Minnesota, copes with grief several months after the death of one of the four children. Everything is quiet in their home and sadness fills all the rooms: "The day she died now existed as a bubble above all the other days on the family's calendar, a fragile and fierce floating thing, untethered to the earth, well below the clouds but beyond anyone's reach." The girl's bedroom remains just as she had left if on the summer day she drowned, while the two brothers share a bedroom in their three-bedroom house, and their baby sister sleeps in their parents' room. One "balmy winter day" the mother asks the oldest boy if he'd like to move into his sister's room. He would. But when he begins to hear his mother's answers to his questions (Where will I sleep? In your sister's bed. Where will I put my clothes? In her drawers), he breaks down, shedding tears he's been holding in for a long time. Still, he helps his mother clean out his sister's room and falls asleep that night looking out the window, realizing he now has the same view his sister had had for so many years. This beautifully written story provides a remarkable portrait of a particular family's grief. The illustrations by a Hmong artist include many specific cultural details that will especially resonate with Hmong families. (Ages 5-9)

A family gradually moves forward after the loss of a child—a story for readers of all ages

When someone you love dies, you know what doesn’t die? Love. On the hot beach, among colorful umbrellas blooming beneath a bright sun, no one saw a little girl walk into the water. Now, many months later, her bedroom remains empty, her drawers hold her clothes, her pillows and sheets still have her scent, and her mother and father, brothers and sister carry her in their hearts, along with their grief, which takes up so much space. Then one snowy day, the mother and father ask the girl’s older brother, “Would you like a room of your own?” He wants to know, “Whose?” They say, “Your sister’s.”

Tenderly, and with refreshing authenticity, beloved Minnesota writer Kao Kalia Yang tells the story of a Hmong American family living with loss and tremendous love. Her direct and poignant words are accompanied by the evocative and expressive drawings of Hmong American artist Xee Reiter. The Shared Room brings a message of comfort and hope to readers young and old.