The Rough Patch by Brian Lies

A Caldecott Honor Award Winner | Hardcover Picture Book | JUVENILE FICTION/Social Themes / Death, Grief, Bereavement | Evan—a farmer—and his dog do everything together, from eating ice cream to caring for their showstopping garden where everything grows big and beautiful. One day, the unthinkable happens: Evan’s dog dies. Heartbroken, Evan destroys the garden and everything in it. Soon, the patch fills with weeds, becoming ugly with prickles and thorns, and Evan embraces the chaos and misery. When a twisting pumpkin vine reaches under the fence, he decides to let it grow. It grows and grows and produces an immense pumpkin. Drawn back to the county fair he and his dog visited every year, Evan reconnects with old friends and his pumpkin wins the perfect prize: a new pup to bring home.