Buy Low Price From Here Now
A pet . . . a friend . . . or a relative dies, and it must be explained to a child. This sensitive book is a useful tool in explaining to children that death is a part of life and that, eventually, all living things reach the end of their own special lifetimes.
Readmore
Technical Details
- ISBN13: 9780553344028- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
See more technical details
By Carol Silva
I've used this book twice to explain death to my 5 year old son, once for a pet and second for a family member. This book is very well written and easy for a child to understand. It was recommended by my childs teacher.
By T. Huck
The book is great. Just watch out for the shipping especially if you want to order more than 1. You cant do it without paying double the shipping... bad rip off.
By Emmi (California)
This book simply explains the process of living and dying, by giving examples of the lifecycle of certain animals and how they eventually die. It could have had alittle more emotion, because there is always emotion connected to losing a loved one. Even children feel that emotion or loss.
By Tracy R. Haralla (Neptune, NJ USA)
My Mother read this book to me as a child after my Father passed away when I was two years old. I have to say that the book was good at helping me understand death, but that the picture of the little boy with the splinter haunted me for years. I don't know what it was, but from that moment on, this book was known to me as "The little boy book."
Just a warning for some parents that have children that may be fightened easily.
By EVR (Texas)
After reading the positive reviews here, I was disappointed with this book. I love the reference to everything having its own special lifetime, but I wish several pages were worded / illustrated differently.
In discussing flowers and vegetable plants, the book states that "when Winter comes and it is cold, they die" -- not always true (many flowers go dormant and come back in the spring), and for me, it's important for my son to understand the vast difference between the death of a plant and the death of an animal or a human. Yes, everything dies, but the language could make a greater distinction between plant and animal/human life, and could be more respectful of human life. After stating that "it may be sad" with respect to human death, on the next page, the book states that "lifetimes are really all the same." I disagree with that statement, and no matter what their religious beliefs, I know very few people who would.
There are a few other things I would change, such as the illustration on the page opposite the description of human death. The text states, "Mostly, of course, they get better again but there are times when they are so badly hurt or they are so ill that they die..." The corresponding illustration is of a boy getting a splinter removed. It's hard to explain why the image seemed so out of place to me, perhaps it's the forlorn expression on the boy's face, or maybe it was the wording of the text -- but for me, the book's overall depiction of human death did not feel reassuring (which was what I had been hoping for).
This book provides a basic matter-of-fact way to explain the life cycle of living creatures. The illustrations are for the most part beautiful, and the language is mostly gentle. However, if you have a young child with specific questions and concerns about loss and what happens when you die, this may not be the right (or at least the only) book for you.
Buy Lifetimes Now
