Badger's Parting Gifts

For a toddler to younger elementary school kids - if they are unfortunately facing premature death or experiencing the passing of a loved one; this book approaches the experience of passing for the dying and those left behind.The message is that death is passage into a new realm - where you leave your incapacitated physical body behind and regain freedom and lightness, for those who are passing.For those left behind - that the essence of loved ones stay with you, in your memories, in what you do because of their time spent with you. While you may always miss them, they don’t disappear from your life.The odd thing was that LO liked the book before understanding that the badger died. Once another version of understanding of death came through, it was as though the book’s message was incongruous with the understanding of death and made it incomprehensible. Will revisit the book again gently as I think it would be a much warmer and kinder view of death when it becomes a personal experience.

Badger's Parting Gifts is one of my favorite children's books. I was first introduced to it on the night before my mother died, so it has a very special place in my heart. She was a psychotherapist who worked with terminally ill patients and their grieving children, but after a 3 year battle with pancreatic cancer, she was now the one lying in coma in the very same hospital where she had accompanied many others to the end of their life. When one of her students came to say farewell that night, she sat by her bedside and told us that she had brought a book that my mother loved and often read to bereaved children. She wanted to read it to her one last time. So, these are the circumstances under which my sister and I received the unexpected gift of this beautifully illustrated story. And that was an unforgettable and deeply moving experience! In French, the book is titled "Au Revoir Blaireau" (Farewell, Badger). These ended up being the very last words I whispered in my mother's ear before leaving her for the night. She died at dawn the next day. I have read and re-read the book many times since then, in both French and English, and have given countless copies away. If you know children who are grieving someone they love, and need support processing their grief and finding uplifting ways to remember those they miss, this soulful little book will be very helpful. I happen to think it's also very healing for adults. [Dear Susan, I am hoping you read your book reviews, and am leaving a short message for you here because I could not find a website or contact info to reach you directly. Simply, I wanted to thank you for all the ways that Badger and his friends Mole, Frog, Fox and Rabbit have touched my heart and my life. And I thought you might like to know that it helped my mother and other French therapists support a lot of kids to befriend their experience of loss. Your wise words and delightful illustrations have been a great gift to us all].

My Dad recently passed away from Covid and I was in search of a book for my children (8 and 2). Both of them really loved this book and so did I. I bought 4-5 different books to try to find which one was best for my kids. They loved this one and the Invisible String the best. The thing I loved most is that it helped you to remember the things that the person who passed taught you (their gifts). It wasn’t just focused on their death and your loss, but the beautiful things they left you that you still have, even though they are gone. It sparked some meaningful conversation and made it easier to talk about Grandpa on a positive note, instead of focusing on what we lost. This book gave us a gift during a very difficult time for our family.

This gentle tale is a helpful way to help children-and adults- think about the loss of a loved one. Appropriate for even very young children.Even without a loss in the family or neighborhood, children will resonant with the story and begin to process relationships and how they can help and teach us.It also helps adults think about their interactions with children and the impact they can have.

I purchased this book after reading numerous reviews (Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, etc) regarding books to discuss the concept of death to my daughter after a family member was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The illustrations are very well made, and the concept of the book is very well written. Many complain about the book referring to death as "going down a very log tunnel". Although clearly not the greatest concept, the book isn't so much about Badger's physical death. The book is more about what Badger left behind in terms of the values he taught his friends, and experiences he had with them. Basically, no matter what happens physically, our thoughts and memories is what lives on. My daughter (5 years old at the time) read it the first time and didn't fully understand and was asking questions, which in my opinion was good because I wanted to discuss the topic with her. After that, as she read it, she began to understand the concept and asked more questions. The story line is well written. The price is a little steep for the amount of pages and being paperback, but it did the job I intended it to do.

The book is written in a very gentle way about death. It is perfect for children and adults ~ it shows how what you learned from that person or things you did with that person will stay alive by sharing memories.

This is the book to read with family when an older person dies . It’s beautifully written and helps more than I can say . I bought copies for lots of family recently when a beloved Grandpa died and though tears flow when you read it, it helps.

This is an absolute classic for children (and adults) coping with grief. Beautifully written and illustrated. I would say it is suitable for children from about five years of age, regardless of reading ability. The child's state of mind and emotional maturity would be more important than reading ability. You can always read and share a story with a child. Definitely not for a bereaved child to encounter alone, but could be a great comfort properly shared.

I bought this book to help my 10 year old son deal with his feelings after my mum died suddenly in April. We read it together and we talked about memories that we have. My son seemed to have been hiding his feelings, and not really admitting to himself what had happened. The story helped us to talk about grief and that you can remember the good times and nice things that a person has done, and that he doesn't always have to be sad when he thinks about his Nanna.

I bought this for my grandchildren (5, 6 and 7) after their great granddad passed away.Badger is an old character whose body is failing. One night he walks away down the long tunnel.One by one, the friends he has left behind remember something special he said or did for them.I think it's so important that children can know that they can feel sad, but also that the person who has passed away lives on in their hearts and memories. Everything they valued about Badger was non-monetary - it was his kindness and thoughtfulness that he was remembered for. Such a powerful yet comforting message.

Bought for a 5 year old after our dear friend who was her Dad passed away unexpectedly.Just a lovely lovely book - she read some of it out at the Crematorium & it was obvious that she understood what it meant - the whole room welled up- highly recommend to help any child through the most difficult moments of losing a family member- - beautiful tale & non religious or morbid - just beautiful