This book broaches a difficult topic in a heartfelt way by exploring the beauty in how animals mourn. From elephants to whales, parrots to bonobos, and lemurs to humans, we all have rituals to commemorate our loved ones and to lift each other up in difficult times.
New from the award-winning team behind You Are Stardust, Wild Ideas, and You Are Never Alone, this book gently recognizes death as a natural part of life for humans and all animals. Written in spare, poetic language and illustrated with stunning dioramas, it draws out our similarities with other animals as it honors the universal experience of mourning. The touching and uplifting book ends on a hopeful note, showing how we live on both in memories and on the planet, our bodies nourishing new life in the Earth and the oceans.
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This is not a book that you are just going to randomly read for fun or leave out in your classroom. It's designated for those who are preparing to say goodbye to a loved one. The story was inspired by a young girl who was there when her dog had to be put down, but it also applies to people. I had a hard time getting through it, because it took me back to those final moments with each of my parents as they passed. I think I actually uttered some of those words to them.
It's also supposed to show how animals deal with death and grief, which I think too often we forget they also go through.
I think maybe because of my own personal experience going through this relatively recently with my parents, it was harder for me to read the book from the perspective of animals. I think I know what the author's intention was. And I also had moments of remembering being there when my elderly pets also died recently and how the younger ones reacted. But the part about "I will watch our children grow up. I will watch our grandchildren, too," kind of threw me off a bit. I don't know how children will relate to that part. I felt like I was getting mixed stories from this one book. Is it people or is it animals? I think minus that little bit, I may have appreciated the story more.
Nevertheless, I think it could potentially be a starting point for conversation with children when you know that a pet or beloved relative or friend is going to pass on, how you can say goodbye and grieve as you remember them after they're gone. We never know how we are actually going to react as adults, let alone how the kids are going to react in these situations.
I will say that the illustrations are absolutely beautiful and do compel all kinds of emotions when you look at them. I could feel the sadness and the pain of the animals saying goodbye to their loved ones.
Thank you to the publisher for fulfilling my review request via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
