I don't think it's the only book that you will want, and there are others that better explain the emotions of grief. Eden…I know you have an army of people around you – and little old me has you in my thoughts and prayers. It should be used as part of a comprehensive set of books on biological and familial concepts as it is not meant to answer all of a child's questions on life cycles, grief, death or dying. In 1986, he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen medal for his contribution to children's literature.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. A beautiful children's book about the cycle of life for all living things-animals, plants, humans, bugs.I also love that the book discusses death without any references to religion or afterlife, so it is appropriate for families of any belief system. He did, however, manage to listen until the end, and I think he absorbed the message it had to give.

This Goodreads listing is the one that uses the correct title (Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children). Robert Ingpen is an award-winning illustrator of numerous books, including The Encyclopedia of Events That Changed the World, The Encyclopedia of Ideas That Changed the World, and The Encyclopedia of Mysterious Places.This statement either reflects the authors' intent on only dealing with the concept of physical death, or it could be interpreted as their belief statement. Once children have moved beyond self to include the awareness of another, they will benefit from the gentle scaffolding of the concept. He has written and/or illustrated more than 100 books including versions of The Wind in the Willows, The Jungle Book, A Christmas Carol, and Treasure Island. What is great about this book and something I didn't realize at the time was that lifetimes didn't have to only related to death of people.

It explains the cyclic nature of life and death for animals, plants and people in a matter of fact, beautiful and poignant way. In a simple and matter-of-fact way, "Lifetimes" explains death in a way that children can understand. It is a powerful book, presenting a way for a child--and her grandmother-- to comprehend the cycle of life and death. Here is a list of excellent books designed to help explain death to younger children or to help them cope. As a public school librarian, I would say that "Lifetimes" is an effective picture book for an adult to share with a child (or children) in dealing with the subject of death.The repetitive text helps young children process the complex concept of life and death, and the illustrations are peaceful and interesting but not cutesy. I also appreciated that this was an entirely secular take on death, focusing only on death and not the questions about what, if anything, happens afterward. Thank you, Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen, for making it easier to comfort children with a gentle perspective about death. I know that eventually my child will start asking questions about death, and I'd like to know what resources are available.

A lot of books on this topic are targeted for bereaved children, which doesn't apply to my son, he just has questions and worries. For what it's worth, I'm proud to be able to offer a short review of my late father's book, Lifetimes, which is still selling all around the world, many years after its initial publication. The book simply explains that all life has a beginning and an ending, and highlights the different life spans of different creatures (and plants), with each page showing something different; an ant, a butterfly, a rabbit, flowers and shrubs, a crab, and so on, with beautiful illustrations showing a healthy/living version and a crumbling/dead version for comparison which is very helpful for a young child to make the distinction. But we are all going to die, every one of us, and this book can help to understand that without fairy tales or hysteria.

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.