Duck, Death and the Tulip

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Why do you think people are so scared of death? Do you think that people are scared of death or of the pain of dying? There is something infinitely tender in the way Death strokes her ruffled feathers into place, lifts her body and places it gently in the river, watching as she drifts off into the distance. "For a long time he watched her. When she was lost to sight, he was almost a little moved."

Few readers could fail to be impressed in one way or another, by this outstanding book. It’s haunting and it’s hopeful. What more could anyone ask of great literature?At the moment Older Brother, Little Brother and I are in the middle of an intense week of rehearsals for the Ryedale Festival’s Community Opera (in North Yorkshire, UK) – this year’s production is a modernised version of the 15th Century English morality play Everyman by Em Whitfield Brookes and Tim Brookes. In a nutshell, it is about Death sent by God to summon Everyman, who is not at all ready, spiritually, to meet his Maker. Considering how simple the text and images are, there is an incredible amount you can take from them. The use of blank space and of colour are also used highly effectively and the significance of this could even be talked about in an art lesson. The ending isn’t sad, because it’s just life. And though this book may be intended for the more adult reader, it’s told so philosophically, and with such inherent humour, it’s suitable for kids of any age. JANELLE: As we read and discussed this book in class, we all were cognizant of the fact we had begun April’s My Take/Your Take with a book on death — the Batchelder winner for 2017 entitled Cry, Heart, But Never Break (Ringtved, 2016). So comparisons were made across these two titles that each have a unique explanation for and about death and couch the message if sensitively told narrative. Since the U.S. doesn’t have many books that deal so boldly with sensitive issues, these books were intriguing, although the plan was not to focus on the issue of death but to tap into award winning books and their creators from different countries. Death is something all children ask about eventually, either as an abstract idea, or because a grandparent or pet has died. Maybe it comes from questioning where their food comes from – or whether dead flowers go “to heaven” too? Even if they are spared something unexpected and tragic happening close to their lives, it may come up through listening to or watching the news.

The character of Death is depicted as a dressing-gown clad figure with a stylised skull for a head. Obviously any representation of a skull comes heavily loaded with our pre-conceived baggage that we hang on this symbolism, but the look of the character is softened by the rest of the figure who looks like they are perpetually ready for bed or haven’t bothered to get dressed for the day. Personally, I don’t want to be a parent who tells their child that Grandma is up in heaven or sleeping forever when that is not something I believe myself. I don’t want to scare them with threats of hell fire or have them brainwashed by fantastical promises of an unsubstantiated utopian afterlife. Our whole philosophical worldview is based on metaphors we construct for ourselves out of ideas that make sense and I like the concept that this little book espouses so elegantly. Explaining the topic of death in a way that is honest, lightly philosophical and with gentle humor, this enchanting book has been translated into multiple languages, adapted into an animated movie and short film and performed on stages worldwide. The second thing the reader notices is the extraordinary courage of the book – the uncluttered nature of its graphics, the uncompromising excellence of its design and production and its honest message that `Death is always with us’. For his illustrations, Erlbruch received honorable mention in the 2008 Dutch Gouden Penseel competition for best children's book illustrations. [5] [6] Adaptations [ edit ]I do know that children's books have always appropriated adult subject matter. Shaun Tan, author of picture books about depression and immigration ( The Red Tree and The Arrival), deserves much of the recent credit – or perhaps the blame – for a spate of picture books with thoroughly unchildish subjects. And it can be no coincidence that the tradition which spawned the Brothers Grimm, and the most terrifying stories in all children's literature, also brings us Wolf Erlbruch. guy says Death is envious of Life and I like the idea that they were kind of companions, in sort of conflict a lot