It has a clear message about life and death, so there is no hidden message, which is helpful as many children won't understand suggestions and implications in the way they will understand straightforward statements. By doing this, you cope with your pain and unanswered questions: when you explain to children, you are explaining to the child who is still living in you. especially if you have a little one that has already started to think about it (because of a loss of a loved one or a pet).

A year and a half after my granddaughter died, when i re-read this book I still find comfort and a kind of acceptance. I bought it for my 3 year old who doesn't yet grasp the concept of death but we have seen many dead insects and a good few dead birds and mice (pet cat - need I say more! The book's authors conclude with "So, no matter how long they are, or how short, lifetimes are really all the same. 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. A beautiful children's book about the cycle of life for all living things-animals, plants, humans, bugs.With simple text and illustrations of nature, this book aims to normalize death by explaining it as a part of a given creature’s lifetime. The message, communicated as much through the graceful illustrations as through the words, is that the brevity of these creatures lives does not make them less beautiful or wonderous. She lived on in wonderful shape: went to pre-school for the first time, watched her new baby brother grow, went to dance classes and read many, many books.

Simple and to the point without adding stories about heaven or "gone away" etc that can cause confusion in young children.This is a great book that talks about death as a natural thing without delving into topics like religion. 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 (all Penguin Studio).

The words and illustrations peacefully showed how birth, living, and death are the natural process of life.This is a simple and straight forward explanation of the biological sequence of birth, life, and death for children with realistic illustrations from the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Through Robert Ingpen's captivating illustrations, children can visualize and comprehend the abstract concepts of life and death. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). I feel that this book is really the most beautiful and sensitive way to explain life and death to a child.

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. Lifetimes ~ A Beautiful Way to Explain Life and Death to Children is a book I have read and used many times with children. The majority of pages are undamaged with some creasing or tearing, and pencil underlining of text, but this is minimal. 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. Once children have moved beyond self to include the awareness of another, they will benefit from the gentle scaffolding of the concept.

Mostly, of course, they get better again, but there are times when they are so badly hurt or they are so ill that they die because they can no longer stay alive. Some deal with death of a loved pet and some deal with the death of a grandparent or other family member. This Goodreads listing is the one that uses the correct title (Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children). It is often no more than a few months from the time they hatch until they are strong enough to fly and feed themselves. 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.