I Found a Dead Bird: The Kids' Guide to the Cycle of Life and Death

by Jan Thornhill

The death of a bird is the jumping-off point for this intelligent, wide-ranging look at the cycle of life. From life spans to how things die, from what happens after death to how people cope with the loss of a loved one, Jan Thornhill guides young readers through difficult territory with grace, sensitivity, and touches of humor. She tackles the subject head on, never shirking from reality, but with a life-affirming perspective that connects death to the world around us as part of the natural, never-ending cycle of life. The book’s lively design and color photographs reinforce Thornhill’s pragmatic, positive tone.

Genres: Nonfiction, Death, Animals, Picture Books, Science, Childrens

64 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 2006

About the author

I was born in 1955 in Sudbury, but spent most of my childhood in southern Ontario where, encouraged by my artist mother and engineer/inventor father, I developed a life-long passion for both art and the natural world. I spent a lot of time exploring the fields, woods, ponds, and streams near where I lived, and was an avid collector of things I found. I brought home all kinds of treasures – skulls and fossils, bird feathers and empty nests, insects, snake skins, fallen leaves. Eventually I labeled everything and made a museum in the basement. I thought I’d get rich by charging a 5¢ entry fee…but my mum was the only one who paid!

After high school, I attended the Ontario College of Art where I had fun making experimental films and videos – not drawing and painting. For about ten years after that, I illustrated freelance for magazines and newspapers, and did odd jobs such as sewing thousands of beads and sequins on Dolly Parton’s dresses. Finally, in the late eighties, I switched to the much richer life of creating children’s books. From the beginning, the aim of these wildlife-based books has been to foster in young readers a love of art, nature and the environment.

I live in the Kawarthas in a house in the woods that my husband and I built. As well as making books, I grow organic vegetables, raise a few chickens each year, make bread from captured wild yeast, and wander around in the woods looking for wild mushrooms, slime molds, beetles and animal skulls. A lot of the things I find – skulls, snake skins, desiccated insects, a mummified bat & hummingbirds, etc. – have made their way into what I call my “museum-in-a-bag,” a collection of natural treasures I share with kids when I visit schools. I’m an obsessive observer of the world around me, so much so that I consider a day I haven’t learned something to be a day wasted.

Reviews

[Aliza Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book off the library shelves and before I knew it, nearly a half hour had passed as I was engrossed in the pages. My entire life, I have been fascinated with biology, especially animals, in both life and death. To this day, if I find a dead animal, I get close to inspect it. Curiosity about its life and the circumstances of its death create so many questions. An emotional attachment always come along with it, sadness that this living thing is no longer living. Death is a topic that usually is explained to children through religious or spiritual beliefs or invented stories to shield them from a brutal truth. So when I saw this book and how honestly and appropriately it handled the sometimes taboo topic of death, I was intrigued. This book gets a lot right in terms of covering its topic in engaging and understanding ways for kids. With loads of photos, infographics, and other nonfiction text features, readers learn about lifespans, how things die, and what happens after death (including physical changes, decomposition, fossilization, grieving, human funerary customs, afterlife/religious beliefs, and learning from death). This is not a book for a kid coping with a recent death, but for all kids who are curious about what it means to be a living being who will inevitably face death, in a non-scary way.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a nature magazine or a DK book, I Found a Dead Bird is full of photos, facts, and fascinating facts about the cycle of life and death. I would recommend it for a kid who is at least 6....or maybe even to an adult. It is really interesting covering everything from the life spans of individuals to the extinction of species, and from animal scavengers to cultural traditions of mourning. Fascinating any time, but not what I would turn to if I am hoping to comfort a child after the loss of a loved one.

[Wesley Sueker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a lot closer to Ranger Rick magazines than anything else. It's very graphic--not graphic about death, I mean the pages themselves are made up of a series of graphics, photos, graphs, etc. The age range seems to be age 7-10 ish.

It's much more about science and animals than about the emotional aspects of death. If your kid actually found a dead bird and felt sad about it, or if you're trying to explain the death of a loved one, this isn't the book I'd recommend. If your kid is just curious about animals, food chains, disasters, and that sort of thing, they'd probably enjoy this like they'd enjoy Ripley's Believe It Or Not.


One last note: there are a few pages about the end about human practices around death, and a very dulled down page on spiritual beliefs. That page states there is "one thing most humans agree on--that people have souls or spirits that move to another plane when they die". Technically true, but (as I am not a part of that majority) it did put me off that they presented it that way considering how scientific the rest of the book is.

[Suzanne Thackston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this very much indeed. Matter-of-fact, kind without being soppy and jam-packed with interesting facts. Exactly what I'd have liked to have when I was a kid.

[Melissa Ganka-Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done. It does not address life and purpose from a Christian perspective, but it does not contradict it either.

[Adelas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a secondhand shop, wondering what it would focus on. I was impressed at the breadth of information that is covered.
Life & Lifespans - pretty self-explanatory.
How Things Die - includes discussion of herbivores and carnivores, weather, germs, accidents, "human destruction", and extinction
After Something Dies - the end of life processes, scavengers, decomposition of animals and of plants, the cycle of life, and fossilization

Then comes the part I was not sure about: When People Die. The author
-addresses mourning and grief (including for pets)
-lists a handful of funeral customs (including what it's likely to be like at a funeral)
-lists a handful of beliefs about the afterlife without committing to one (specifically, reincarnation, near-death experiences, the idea of heaven), mentions la Dia de los Muertos and debunks the idea of ghosts;
-discusses ways to remember those who have died (inc

luding a slightly out-of-place blurb about Species Memory aka instinct)
-mentions autopsies, paleontology, and forensic anthropology
and
-discusses ideas of resurrection, such as Frankenstein, cryonics, defibrillators, and cloning

This will not serve as a jumping-off point for a religious discussion (unless you believe in reincarnation, for which there is a short explanation). However, that also means that it isn't going to push an unwanted worldview, either; it sticks to the facts.

There are plenty of images of dead animals, plants and so on; for the squeamish, the most impactful images will probably be: one black and white photo of a dead soldier from the US Civil war, a photo of a living child with smallpox, a series of photos of a decaying pig (to show the steps of decomposition), and a formal Victorian portrait of a child that was taken after death (along with the info that it was common during that period when photos were rare, as it may

have been the only chance to get a picture of the person.)

I would peg the reading level as upper elementary age or possibly middle school.

Overall, it's a really great book.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The death of a bird is the jumping-off point for this intelligent, wide-ranging look at the cycle of life. From life spans to how things die, from what happens after death to how people cope with the loss of a loved one, Jan Thornhill guides young readers through difficult territory with grace, sensitivity, and touches of humor. She tackles the subject head on, never shirking from reality, but with a life-affirming perspective that connects death to the world around us as part of the natural, never-ending cycle of life. The book’s lively design and color photographs reinforce Thornhill’s pragmatic, positive tone.

[LaRaie Zimm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to children 8+ who are looking for scientific information about life and death. There is a lot of information packed into this book--from how we honor the dead in different cultures to the stages of decomposition, how we have learned about death over the generations, and how death is a natural part of the life cycle. This book gives the microscopic and macroscopic perspective of the life and death cycle. The photographs are and illustrations are interesting and relevant. Many of the facts are fun and will keep the conversation going.

[Marissa Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life and death are realities and this book takes off the kid gloves and gives genuine, respectful information about a process that might normally frighten children to read about. It succinctly details a large amount of information about life and death, from the beginning, to the end. Physical details make up the bulk of this book, but the spiritual side of things is also adequately covered. Suggest to an curious child. Would probably not recommend to a child who has recently experienced a death close to them.

[Marissa Elera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life and death are realities and this book takes off the kid gloves and gives genuine, respectful information about a process that might normally frighten children to read about. It succinctly details a large amount of information about life and death, from the beginning, to the end. Physical details make up the bulk of this book, but the spiritual side of things is also adequately covered. Suggest to an curious child. Would probably not recommend to a child who has recently experienced a death close to them

[Kathleen Behrendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great! It tells you, in simple terms, everything you need to know about death. The book explores everything from how death occurs to what happens after death. One whole chatper is devoted to human death. The photographs complement the text. The book is fully indexed. There is a certain amount of "yuck" to entertain readers.

Recommend this book to students in fourth grade and up. Teachers looking for material for science or biology classes would find this book useful. It would make a great addition to a book talk.

[Lupine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have seen dealing with death. While it wouldn't necessarily be appropriate for a grieving child, it is an excellent book for the child who has questions about death. It covers life and life spans, how things die, what happens when something dies, cultural and historical customs regarding death and grief. Very matter of fact and would prompt a lot of discussion.

[Angelica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very insightful non-fiction book on the cycle of life and death. With information on everything from life and life span, how things die, after death, when people die and much more. This is a great book for kids to learn about where they come from and what happens when people die.

Great for a boy or girl

Great for graders 3rd to 5th

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good non fiction book about life and death in biological terms. I think it may be a little long for the target age, but maybe that's just me. What can be a delicate topic was very well handled through the use of upbeat yet sensitive writing, interesting statistics and 'did you know' type facts. Generally great use of photos too.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

sorta weird. they showed how a pig decomposes.