"After you die,
friends and family
will gather.
Some will travel
long distances
and stay for
many hours."
In their latest collabroration, this amazing team invites readers to consider conversations concerning death. Using a gentle and affective first person voice, Elin Kelsey speaks of the loss of a loved one. Soyeon Kim's absolutely stunning ink-and-watercolor artwork is shown in dioramas, adding depth and detail to the scenes of sorrow and support for the dying animals.
The book begins with the elephant, the orca and the chimpanzee as they perform final rituals before death, and then continues as other animals mourn the loss of the one that has gone by stroking, lying beside, and staying near. Howler monkeys emit mournful cries, hyenas hold tight and gorillas keep watch in tearful sadness.
Communities gather. Whales swim long distances to be with family, elephants cover the dead in greenery and come back to visit. They know that those bodies offer a gift to the land and the sea, nourishing it for new growth to take place.
"I will miss you forever.
Yet, one day
soon,
I will think of you and feel joy.
I will remember you in the places
you loved to nap.
And sometimes I will be sad
and wish I could play with you."
There is such beauty in the natural world and the ways in which animals mourn their loved ones. In accepting that death is a part of life, this team helps us see the wonder of it all. Gentle and reassuring, with amazing artwork once again, this is a book that is as hopeful as it is beautiful.
https://youtu.be/HAAgGWjt-Sw
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