Each Little Bird That Sings

I am a mother who reads a lot of my daughter's books to enjoy together. My daughter, who can hardly bear to read anything sad, wrote the review Sad but good. In my opinion, this was the perfect sad book for her to read. Comfort deals with the death of her family members in such a forthright way, only to be thrown into a tailspin over what she has done by letting her dog go in the flood. The resolution of Comfort's sorrow and the forgiveness she finally allows herself to feel--these are just great themes for everyone--children and adults. I've been telling 5th grade teachers at my child's school to get a copy of this book for their read-aloud time and hope to feature this book in our Mother-Daughter Book Club. I hope this book is awarded duly for its contribution to literature.

I liked this book because it deals with the subject of "death" in such an unusual way ... with a lot of facts and even some humor. Little Comfort is the daughter of funeral home owners and is rather nonchalant about death, having seen it so often, but when it strikes close to home and she has to deal with it on a personal level she learns much more about life ... death ... and how the loved ones left behind must deal with it. Comfort is a lovable, charming, caring girl who comes up with some unique remedies to ease the pain. This is a heartfelt book ... one that teaches children about death in a sensitive way. At times it's even humorous ... which must have been quite a challenge for this talented author.

The other day I was speaking to a employee of the publishing house of Harcourt, Inc. We chatted about this and that but eventually I had to ask. What, in this employee's opinion, was Harcourt's best bet for the 2006 Newbery Award? I was told that word on the street was that people were all ah-buzz over author Deborah Wiles', "Each Little Bird That Sings". I had not heard of this book myself. Despite the fact that I am a children's librarian, and despite the fact that the book was sitting easy-peasy on my bookshelf, I hadn't thus far deigned to take it down and give it a look-see. In doing so I saw all sorts of things that could make it an award winner. Death, good writing, and a dog who shuffles off this mortal coil. But beyond the obvious depressing aspects, Wiles shocked me with the quality of the book. It's peppered with folksy wisdom and tidbits of advice about "life", but never in a way that feels like the author's laying it on too thick. "Each Little Bird That Sings" is a delicate balancing act between humor and pain and solid sensible advice for getting through an uneasy world. When you grow up in a funeral home like Comfort Snowberger has, you have a healthy understanding of death. And within a single year Comfort's Great-great-aunt Florentine and Great-uncle Edisto have joined the choir invisible. When Edisto died the funeral would have been beautiful had it not been for Comfort's scrawny, big-eyed, unable-to-quite-grasp-the-concept-of-dying, seven-year-old cousin Peach. Peach managed to faint into a punch bowl, throw up, scream, and generally (in Comfort's eyes) make a nuisance of himself. Now Florentine's funeral is coming up and Peach is in Comfort's life again. Even worse, her best friend Declaration Johnson has suddenly turned mean. Real mean. If it weren't for her dog Dismay, Comfort might never know how to get through the next few days. But it takes losing the most important thing in her world to get our heroine to realize what it is to forgive both yourself and others around you. The book begins with a matter-of-fact mention that Comfort's Great-great-aunt Florentine and Great-uncle Edisto are both dead. When you read this, you're inclined to laugh. A serious subject taken with this much upfront honesty often elicits a nervous chuckle from the kid reading the book. Wiles then immediately tells you exactly who has died and why they were important to the world. Every character is a distinct individual and their every action is completely understandable. To Comfort, growing up with death every day, Peach's violent reaction to it is immature and ridiculous. She's unable to see it his way, consequently making him have to come over to her way of thinking by the story's end. Now I'm about to spout an opinion that will give away a big ole plot point. SPOILER ALERT, if you will. If you would like to read this book through and not have this detail spoiled for you, stop reading right now and just know that I

Within the first few pages of this book the reader can find the rest of the words of the song that is referenced in the title. I had learned the song in my junior high choir, but while we sang of the Lord God Loving them all (in public school, no less!), Wiles either knows a different version or chose to edit her book-version to keep things from getting to Jesus-y. Either way, what a relief. The last thing I want to see in the first few pages of a book is a pro-God message - that's a pretty good indication that the book is going to suck. Well, this book far from sucks. In fact, it's the best book I've read in quite a while. I may be saying this because it deals with death and dying, some subjects that have been far too thematic for me this past year, but consider this: I've also been reading a lot on death and dying lately, trying to deal with it all. Some highly recommended by friends, all of them meant for adults. This book, meant for children, is the first one to get it right. It's the first one that has made me cry, and I mean really cry, with a huge pile of kleenex growing at the foot of my couch and a pounding headache afterward. It's hard for me to say what makes Wiles's book so successful, as I think it succeeds on so many levels. Perhaps what I like the most is that she never once writes as if children are less smart versions of adults. Of course, any writer for children will tell you how they think the world of children and would never think of writing down to them, but the fact is quite a few of them do. Not Wiles. I had cringed at first at the cutesy-ness of some of her characters' names, but she turns Comfort Snowberger into a real person, with ego and insecurities, conflicting emotions . . . the whole "messy" package. Another lovely thing about Wiles book is her way with dialogue. I love dialogue, and will sometimes find myself skimming through the description and narrations of a book to get to some. This was unnecessary with Each Little Bird, as it is filled to the brim, but not over, with beautifully crafted conversations that both entertain and inform. Wiles is able to build her characters through what they say and how they say it, and trusts the reader to interpret on their own. This is one of the most wonderful things about Wiles work, and a mark of a truly good kid's book. Any book, in fact. An author, having figured something out about their character, is tempted to declare it on paper. If they can keep from doing so, the reader will draw their own conclusions from the facts at hand, thus drawing them into the story and making them a part of the events at hand. Wiles is a master at showing just enough, and never telling. Another wonderful thing about the dialogue is that while it is undeniably Southern, it is not overdone. The characters do say things like pic-a-nic, but you will never find them saying things like y'all, and thank goodness Wiles does not try to write their accent into the text, a ho

"Remember that death is a natural thing --- it's all around us...Don't try to hide death from kids... Kids are better at death than grown-ups give them credit for...." From the 2004 PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship winner and author of LOVE, RUBY LAVENDER --- an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Children's Book Sense 76 Pick, a Parent's Guide Children's Media Award Winner, and a New York Public Library Book for Reading and Sharing --- comes a touching tearjerker for young readers about coming to terms with death and remembering to appreciate life in all its capacities. With a slicing candor that is at times hard to stomach yet crucial to the book's overall resonance, Deborah Wiles has penned a second novel that will hit readers through the heart. Ten-year-old Comfort Snowberger's family owns and runs the town funeral home in Snapfinger, Mississippi. In her short life, Comfort has attended 247 funerals and has taken part in everything from helping to bake the casseroles for the guests to writing her own version of the newspaper's obituary column, "Life Notices by Comfort Snowberger: Explorer, Recipe Tester, and Funeral Reporter." Along with her brother Tidings, her parents, her best friend Declaration, Great-uncle Edisto, Great-great-aunt Florentine, and her dog Dismay, Comfort does her utmost to keep everyone's spirits up under what are oftentimes the dourest of circumstances. Life runs smoothly in the Snowberger household until the day when Great-uncle Edisto has a stroke and dies. A short while later, Great-great-aunt Florentine takes a tumble in the garden and dies as well, peacefully sprawled out amidst the lavender. With so much funeral preparation and mourning to do, the last thing Comfort expects is for Declaration to ignore her in order to befriend two "cooler" girls at school. To make matters worse, her eight-year-old cousin, Peach, is acting like a baby and receiving all the attention! At the end of it all, Comfort is left feeling confused, hurt, and worst of all, lonely. Then, on the day of Great-great-aunt Florentine's funeral, when a massive storm rages and floodwaters sweep Dismay under the current and threaten to take Comfort and Peach's lives as well, the Snowbergers' somewhat nonchalant and comfortable relationship with death is shaken to its core. But, through straightforward discussions, patience and plenty of hugs to go around, they manage to slowly rebuild their lives by reaffirming their love for one another, their community, and their lives. Deborah Wiles's second novel is a quiet yet immensely arresting read for young adults. From its honest and direct approach to death, to the author's cunning choice of characters' names (Comfort, Declaration, Tidings, Dismay), to the fact that the ending certainly made this grown reviewer cry, EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS is perfect for fostering parent-child conversations about what it means not only to deal with losing someone you love, but also to be thankful for wha