WOW Review: Volume XVII, Issue 2 • Page 3 of 9 • Worlds of Words

All the Dear Little Animals
Written by Ulf Nilsson
Illustrated by Eva Eriksson
Translated by Julia Marshall
Gecko Press, 2020, 57 pp
ISBN: 9781776572892

In this translated book from Sweden, three children decide to create a business, Funeral Ltd., and take on the responsibility of burying all the poor dead animals on earth. Esther, the oldest, will do the digging, the boy narrator will write poems memorializing the animals, and Esther’s little brother Puttie will do the crying.

“…Someone unselfish must make sure all these dead things get buried.”

“Who must?” I asked.

“We must,” she said. (p. 9)

The story is beautifully told from the narrator’s perspective and addresses the heavy subject of the suddenness and finality of death and the accompanying grief. The children pay respect to all living things that die, from a small bee to a large hare and other animals in between. Ulf Nilsson uses humor and the narrator’s poems to honor the lives of the animals that pass.

The characters in the text each process and respond to grief differently. Esther responds by keeping busy. She looks for other animals to bury, and takes charge of directing others in the tasks of preparing to say goodbye. Esther’s younger brother Puttie asks a lot of questions, including if he will die too! The questions reflect the curiosity of young children as they process heavy concepts such as death and dying. Esther is very determined to bury the animals with care, but she does not cry. In contrast, Puttie cries for each animal and remains very sad, struggling with the permanence of death when he speculates a blackbird can be happy again (p. 50) and wants to wake up Harold the hamster (p. 26). The narrator of the story deals with his own fear of death, and uses his poetry to honor death with simple lines that are somewhat humorous.

Through the story of the three children, Nilsson explores the nature of death and dying, such as loss without warning. The narrator references this sudden reality of death with his poem,

Death comes just as the clock strikes ten.

Why? Why? Why just then? (p. 31)

In contrast, the book also demonstrates the worth of every living creature and that they deserve to be honored in death. The honoring happens with each animal being named and receiving a grave marker. The narrator composes a poem for each funeral (e.g., “Harold Hymns” to sing at the hamster’s funeral).

Children’s literature that focuses on death and dying is discussed in the article, “Communication about Dying, Death, and Bereavement: A Systematic Review of Children’s Literature” (Arruda-Colli, Weaver & Wiener, 2017). This study includes an analysis of books written for children around death and dying. The authors state that books on loss are helpful for families, as parents often struggle with how to raise difficult topics with their child and may often remain silent due to concern for making a mistake in their explanation. Books can provide both the language parents may need to explain a topic and an opportunity to explore a child’s understanding and feelings, while considering that child’s cognitive and emotional development and understanding of the world.

The ability to adapt to loss, cope with death, and express grief is critical for healthy childhood development. All the Dear Little Animals can be used to introduce the topic of death and dying to children due to the structure of the text, engaging illustrations, and appropriate wording. However gaps still exist in current children’s literature to effectively encourage children to reflect on their own dying processes. The study found that few books exist that reflect on a child dying and less than one-quarter of the books included tools for readers to address the topic of death. In All the Dear Little Animals, the author writes about death happening suddenly and without warning to animals. The text lacks a human element that connects the characters to loss of a human, so it does not provide a tool for the reader to examine their own experience with grief due to loss of a friend or family member.

The illustrations are bright and colorful. The shades of yellow and green are soft and warm and inviting to the reader. Eriksson displays the deceased animals with care, peace, and gentleness. Crosses are displayed on the tiny graves with a colorful bouquet honoring the life of each animal who looks peacefully asleep. The bright pictures invite readers to feel a warmth and appreciation for each living creature as the children honor the lives of the animals. On page 44, the picture of the hare lying in a makeshift coffin depicts both a pillow and a blanket, reflecting the blanket and pillow used in funerals today, and giving a real world connection.

Books that could pair with All the Dear Little Animals include titles like Paws and Edward (Espen Dekko & Mari Kanstad Johnsen, 2019) that explore the relationship between children and their pets and the loss they feel when a pet dies. The Flat Rabbit (Bárdur Oskarsson, 2013) is a compassionate exploration of death in which a dog and rat find a rabbit who had been run over and decide what to do with the body. Finally, Matt James (2018) explores the experience of two children attending a service honoring their great uncle’s life in The Funeral.

Ulf Nilsson was a Swedish children’s book author (1948-2021). He wrote over 100 books with many of them translated into English by Gecko Press. Nilsson’s popular titles include the Detective Gordon series with a mystery-solving toad, The First Case (2015), A Complicated Case (2016), A Case in Any Case (2017), A Case for Buffy (2018), and A Case with a Bang (2023). He won the August Award (Sweden) and and his 1987 title If You Didn’t Have Me won the Batchelder Award.

Eva Eriksson was born in Halmstad, Sweden in 1949. She graduated from Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts, and Design. She has illustrated many children’s books such as the series written by Rose Lagercrantz about an optimistic girl, My Happy Life (2017), Where Dani Goes Happy Follows (2019), and All’s Happy that Ends Happy (2020). She recently collaborated with Barbro Lindgren (2022) on The Tale of the Tiny Man. Her body of work was rewarded with the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2001.

Julia Marshall is the founder, CEO and publisher of Gecko Press, based in New Zealand. She lived in Sweden for twelve years where she made international magazines translated in up to 22 languages. It was there she learned the art of translation and what makes a good translation. At Gecko, she aims to find books with heart that are an antidote to “sameness.” More information can be found in an interview between Julia and the Cast of Thousands blogger.

Reference

Arruda-Colli, M. N. F., Weaver, M. S., & Wiener, L. (2017). Communication about dying, death, and bereavement: A systematic review of children’s literature. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 20(5): 548-559. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2016.0494.

Willeena Booker, Hatboro-Horsham School District

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