With all that is going on in the world today, with so many"Daddy deaths" occurring, this book is a wonderful (and important) resource to share with your young child at such a heartbreaking and confusing time. It explains to a youngster that death happens and helps answer the myriad of questions that arise in a child's mind about their beloved Daddy never coming home to their family ever again.
Unwrapping...
Authored by Elke and Alex Barber
Illustrated by Anna Jarvis
Ages 3+
Explaining (sudden) death in words very young children can understand
Unwrapping illustrations to help tell the story...
About the book...
Sadly, this is based on a true story. It is completely honest and written in little Alex's own words.
Alex and his Daddy are off for a guy's weekend. No girl's allowed!!!! They both are so excited to spend quality time together and have fun riding on a train, cruising across a lake in a boat, eating ham and pineapple pizza, swimming, ordering up their favourite ice cream, and just hanging out and being....guys! Then the unthinkable happens... Daddy starts to feel poorly. He feels so ill that he sends his little three year old son out in search of help. Alex, after a few failed attempts finally connects with someone and an ambulance is called to the scene to take his Daddy away to a local hospital.
Then Mommy gets the phone call that every person dreads the most... her husband has passed away. He has suffered a massive heart attack. Immediately she sets off to be with her son.
When Alex sees his Mummy carrying his toy ambulance he shouts,
"Oi! No girls allowed!"
Now Mummy is faced with the arduous task of explaining to her sweet son that Daddy will not be coming back.
Mummy kneels down and holds her little boy's ear to her chest. She explains that that bump, bump, bump is the sound of her heart beating.
"Everybody has got one.
When it stops beating, you can't breathe anymore. You can't run around, or walk, or talk, or laugh, or wear little boys on your head or tickle anybody.
Daddy's heart has stopped beating, and he is never coming back."
His Mum from then on helps Alex understand as best she can how his Daddy died, explains to him about cremation, burial and spreading his ashes, in thoughts and words that a very young child can comprehend. She also assures him that it was not his fault that this happened to his Daddy. She is so proud of how brave and helpful he was to go out all by himself and seek aid for his ailing Daddy.
As time passes Mum, Alex and Olivia (Alex's little sister) all work through their grief together. He learns that other families have suffered the same grief due to their daddy's death and that it's alright to be sad about his loss and it's okay to have happy times too.
I highly recommend this book. It would be well served to have not only in homes where such a tragedy has taken place, but also in individual classrooms and in school and public libraries too.
When Alex sees his Mummy carrying his toy ambulance he shouts,
"Oi! No girls allowed!"
Now Mummy is faced with the arduous task of explaining to her sweet son that Daddy will not be coming back.
Mummy kneels down and holds her little boy's ear to her chest. She explains that that bump, bump, bump is the sound of her heart beating.
"Everybody has got one.
When it stops beating, you can't breathe anymore. You can't run around, or walk, or talk, or laugh, or wear little boys on your head or tickle anybody.
Daddy's heart has stopped beating, and he is never coming back."
His Mum from then on helps Alex understand as best she can how his Daddy died, explains to him about cremation, burial and spreading his ashes, in thoughts and words that a very young child can comprehend. She also assures him that it was not his fault that this happened to his Daddy. She is so proud of how brave and helpful he was to go out all by himself and seek aid for his ailing Daddy.
As time passes Mum, Alex and Olivia (Alex's little sister) all work through their grief together. He learns that other families have suffered the same grief due to their daddy's death and that it's alright to be sad about his loss and it's okay to have happy times too.
I highly recommend this book. It would be well served to have not only in homes where such a tragedy has taken place, but also in individual classrooms and in school and public libraries too.
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