When Will My Woodlouse Wake Up?

by Sarah Tagholm

32 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication May 19, 2026

About the author

Sarah Tagholm is a children's author who loves writing about confused animals, mischievous children and all things bizarre.

She is passionate about encouraging a love of reading, libraries and availability of books for all children.

Sarah lives with her husband and son in Cornwall.

Reviews

[Jay Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story that deals with the concept of death in a relatable way for children, ‘When Will My Woodlouse Wake Up?’ is written using childlike language with childlike thought processes. It’s a beautifully gentle way to teach your child a harsh reality if they don’t yet know it, and a great way to help them process if they do.

On a personal note, I would prefer if the syntax wasn’t mimicking a child in every sense - phrases such as, ‘He always does nibbling of a pear, he can’t resist’, were a little jarring for me. I feel if a child knows the word ‘resist’, I think they’d know to say ‘he always nibbles a pear.’ That could be pedantic, but I’d rather not teach my children incorrect sentence structure.

However, I love how it begins with Ross referring to his woodlouse in present tense because he can’t accept the reality, before eventually using past tense. Then he loops back to present at the very end when he imagines what his woodlouse may like to do in each potential afterlife. I think this is cleverly done. The ending is also perfect.

One last note, I was confused with the cats being named Flufflehoff and Barbara on one spread, but Lucy and Barbara two spreads later (as were my children), because they look like the exact same cats, but perhaps this is a personality trait and Ross just renames pets as and when?

[Catherine Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this gentle exploration of, and coming to terms, with losing a pet, Sarah and Manu do a great job of helping young children tackle this difficult question of what happens once a pet passes away. Sarah cleverly uses a very child friendly way of exploring the subject and, with having Fay, the older sister, help her younger brother, the focus remains very much on viewing this from a child's perspective. Considering what might happen to their pet woodlouse from the perspective of a number of faiths, also broadens the readership appeal beyond one view point. There is some gentle and cleverly places humour within this story too (the cats are great!), which helps to lighten an often difficult subject to explore with a child. Manu's illustrations are expressive and warm and full of lovely details for the child reader to explore. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it.