07/09/2014
I truly wish that "Little Books About Big Stuff: About Death" had been on my bookshelf when my Mother died. My children were six and four at the time. I was not prepared, and, in the midst of my own grief, I struggled to make sense of her death to them. This lovely, simple story about losing a beloved pet takes a direct approach to helping a young person understand what can be so confusing and frightening. The story takes a no-nonsense approach to the death of the family dog without sugar-coating the loss. At the same time, the evocative illustrations are touchingly human and expressive. I particularly appreciate the Questions and Answers section and the way the authors have addressed such seemingly obvious but not always clearly understood questions like, "Is it okay to laugh in a memorial service?". To me, the most moving part of this book was Betsy Hill Williams life-affirming poem, "The Space Between". It offers young people (and adults too) a very clear perspective on life and death that connects it to things that are more familiar and more easily understood.