Illustrated by Robert Ingpen. Bantam Books, Toronto, 1983.
Softcover edition, 40 pages, ISBN 0-553-34402-1.
This is hands down the best book I have ever encountered on the subject of death for children. Mellonie simply delineates the fact that lifetimes of all natural things have "beginnings and endings and there is living in between". The pace is slow and deliberate as he describes the general characteristics of long and short lifecycles of plants, birds, fish, trees, insects, animals, and finally people. Ingpen's muted earthtones reflect the solemnity of the topic.
Because there is no spiritual element to this book, it can be appreciated by literally everyone as a gentle recitation of biological processes. There are many other excellent books which introduce belief systems or deal with the practical outworkings of loss and grief, but this one gives reassurance that death is an entirely natural eventual outcome for all living things. Death is merely a part of life.
This is not a book that I would probably ever use in a program situation. I would highly recommend it as a parent resource.
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