Winner of the 2025 Queen's Knickers Book Award.
An honest and simple exploration of death and grief for kids 4 to 8. With playful illustrations by a therapist-turned-artist,
Bird is Dead
uses humor to make death a more approachable topic.
Bird is dead. Yesterday he was alive. How do the other birds know? On your back + feet up = dead. Some of the birds cry a little. And that’s alright. Crying together can be nice. When it’s time to give Bird a funeral, they reminisce about him, and then have tea with worms (or cake, if you don’t like worms).
In a straightforward but warm way, this picture book of collaged birds can facilitate discussions with kids about:
What happens when someone dies
How to understand their feelings of loss and grief
How everyone can experience grief differently, and have a variety of emotions when something tragic happens
Sensitive and humorous,
provides kids and adults with a space to talk about death on their own terms.