This richly illustrated book tells the story of a small village where everyone writes down their grudges and gives it to one man, who keeps them safe. After a disaster opens up all of the grudges for the whole town to see, it’s up to them to find a peaceful resolution.

The book, "The Grudge Keeper", by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler, takes place in the town of Bonnyripple, where grudges are kept by no one but Old Cornelius, also known as, the Grudge Keeper. The people would being their grudges to Old Cornelius, whose house was filled to the brim with the towns' grudges. When a strong wind came through the town, all of the grudges flooded the town. When the wind had subsided, the people went looking for the Grudge Keeper. He was under the large pile of grudges and as people sorted through them, they made amends with one another. Old Cornelius was saved and was able to have visitors, as his home was grudge-free. As the people were looking through the grudges to being back to Old Cornelius, they came to the realization that they were pointless. There are two things that I really like about this book. First, the illustrations are colorful and keep the reader engaged throughout. I also like that it taught a great lesson: to never hold a grudge. Grudges hold you back, and can cause problems where they do not need to be. The townspeople let go of their grudges and everyone was able to celebrate and reunite with one another. This book teaches a lesson that everyone could learn from. ( )

The Grudge Keeper is a little old man who lives in a house and his job is to keep all written grudges of the townspeople. Anytime something happens to anyone in town, they march down to the grudge keeper house and file a complaint. The grudge keeper has to live with the burden of keeping all of the town grudges. One day a strong wind blows into town and creates tons of damage to the townspeople property. The townspeople write up all their compliments and begin marching to the grudge keeper for him to file them. When they arrive they find the man buried under all of their grudges. In the process of freeing the man, they begin to read they old complaints and realized there isn’t any point to holding on to all those grudges. The townspeople throw away all of their grudges which allows them to move forward with their lives. “The Grudge Keeper” is great to remind older readers that holding a grudge is pointless and keeps you from moving on with your life. The book would also be great for little readers who have difficulting letting go of small simple things let when the girl sitting next to them lost their favorite eraser. Most of the compliments were unintentional accidents which hopefully the reader will remember the next time they are beginning to hold a grudge. ( )

Whenever the residents of Bonnyripple have a disagreement, they bring it to Cornelius. Cornelius' role in the town is to keep all the grudges. A peek insides Cornelius' house shows he is distraught by the amount of grudges people have been bringing to him. After a strong wind storm, the grudges fly out of Cornelius' house and he is buried under a heaping pile. The townspeople rescue Cornelius and in the process learn to let go of grudges and forgive each other. ( )

Cornelius is the only one in Bonnyripple to ever keep a grudge. He kept grudges for all the people of the town. He did not have any of his own but when the people came to give him their grudges, he stood their waiting every time. His house began to overload with so many grudges it exploded. They were all disorganized in a huge mess outside his house. When the people of Bonnyripple witnessed this they began to re-read some of things they wrote about. They realized these things were worth forgiving and forgetting. Soon Cornelius's house was filled with friendliness, smiles, and hugs. He simply did not have the room for grudges. This is a cute story to show children we much forgive and forget others. There are no room in our hearts for grudges, only friendships and smiles. ( )