It isn’t a pretty topic but it is the only thing that is certain in this life. Our loved ones will end up passing on. It is inevitable in the circle of life.

And, grim as it may seem on the face of it, it doesn’t need to be.

The beauty of life is that it is not infinite, each of us is only given a short time to live our life on earth. And, even more wondrous, is that we do not know how long we have. The challenge is to keep this front of mind so that we are always striving to suck the marrow out of every day. To live our lives well so that the end, while always accompanied with sadness by those who are left behind, is also a celebration of a life that was thoroughly lived. Squeezed of every drop of opportunity.

Conceptually, it may be easy for adults to understand these complex thoughts, balancing the sadness of loss with the celebration of a life well lived. But, for children, holding the heavy stone of grief in their heart, while simultaneously understanding that it is an unavoidable eventuality for every living thing, is much more difficult understand.

Their development is still underway, they are only just learning about the impermanence of objects and that family members who are not in their line of sight still exist in the world and will come back to them again.

So, to now explain that someone close to them is gone forever is a difficult task. This is why books that subtly explain the nuances of life-cycles are so beneficial. You may know that we teach many of our lessons based on storybooks and this is another example of a topic that is broached in the gentlest of ways and opens up this sometimes difficult, but very important topic with our small children.

Inflicting trauma on children with the news of loss can have long terms detrimental effects on their well-being, which is why a slow and subtle introduction is so beneficial.

Big Cat Little Cat by Elisha Cooper does just that.

It is about an older cat (Big Cat) who lived alone until a younger cat (Little Cat) came into the family. It is a story of friendship that is illustrated by the

cats lives together, through their days, months and years. Big cat teaches the Little cat how to navigate their world and the two become the best of friends. They do everything together. It is clear that their bond is strong. Then, one day, the Big cat has to go. And he doesn’t come back. Little cat is now grown up with all of the knowledge and skills passed on by Big cat. In this way, Little Cat is no longer Little Cat but a Big cat. He lives alone…. until one day…a new Little cat arrives… and the cycle of life continues.

The circle of life is subtle in this story but it allows for open ended questions that can be pitched to the age of the children who are engaging with the story. Even without discussion, the story still manages to introduce the topic of death in very natural, understandable way that is not morbid but, rather, quietly reassuring.

We recommend this book to all children. Whether they have recently experienced loss or not as it is these types of lessons, introduced in a digestible way, early on in a child’s life, that equips them with the resilience required to traverse the ups and downs they will face on life’s journey. Wisdom such as this allows a broader view of the world and an understanding beyond one’s self.