“I come from a family with a lot of dead people”. So begins Deborah Wiles’ Each Little Bird That Sings, a 2006 Bluebonnet Award nominee and a Junior Library Guild Selection. Comfort Snowberger is a 10-year old girl who lives with her family above their funeral parlor. Comfort has grown up attending funerals and although death and dying do not bother her, no one in her family is prepared when 90-year old Great-great-aunt Florentine Snowberger dies in the family vegetable garden. When the day for the funeral arrives, Comfort’s irritating cousin Peach Shuggars arrives and Comfort is deserted by her best friend Declaration Johnson, making Comfort realize that not all emotions are easy to control, especially when they all impact at once. Readers will identify with Comfort as she copes with the loss of a family member, the apparent defection of her best friend and the loss of her dog, Dismay. Throughout the story, “Wiles succeeds wonderfully in capturing ‘the messy glory’ of grief and life” (Booklist, 2005).
This story is a touching tribute to a family who performs a service that makes life more bearable for others. The author tells the story through the eyes of Comfort, who although she has lived with death for her entire life, has trouble accepting the death of her great-great aunt and her beloved dog Dismay. Readers will laugh as they read Comfort’s “Life Notices” (as opposed to Death Notices) and her “Top Ten Tips for First-rate Funeral Behavior”. “In this heartfelt and quintessentially Southern coming-of-age novel, Comfort will charm young readers with her wit, her warmth, and her struggles as she learns about life, loss, and ultimately, triumph” (Amazon.com, 2007).
I would recommend this book for students in grades 3-5.
Keywords associated with this book: death, dying, family, flood, funeral, grief, realistic fiction, humor, friendship, pet
This story is a touching tribute to a family who performs a service that makes life more bearable for others. The author tells the story through the eyes of Comfort, who although she has lived with death for her entire life, has trouble accepting the death of her great-great aunt and her beloved dog Dismay. Readers will laugh as they read Comfort’s “Life Notices” (as opposed to Death Notices) and her “Top Ten Tips for First-rate Funeral Behavior”. “In this heartfelt and quintessentially Southern coming-of-age novel, Comfort will charm young readers with her wit, her warmth, and her struggles as she learns about life, loss, and ultimately, triumph” (Amazon.com, 2007).
I would recommend this book for students in grades 3-5.
Keywords associated with this book: death, dying, family, flood, funeral, grief, realistic fiction, humor, friendship, pet
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