Books are my ADVIL

Text: I Found a Dead Bird by Jan Thornhill

 

Plot description: The story begins with a child finding a dead bird, which leads to discussing the cycle of life and how death is a natural part of life. Thornhill relates the finding of a dead bird to how people and animals live, and how life wouldn’t be the same if there were no death. It touches lightly on war, murder, and the afterlife, but the majority of the book focuses on animals’ deaths and how it is unfortunate but necessary. The intricacies of the natural world are explored in a straight-forward manner that is digestible for young readers.

 

Theme description:  The book discusses death, both of animals and pets as well as people around us. It shows that the cycle of life and the way in which death brings forth a myriad of questions. While covering the topic of death, it also questions the concept of life, fear of death, and succinctly creates connections to the world we live in.

 

Reason for appropriateness: This graphic novel is appropriate for students in that it covers a topic that is of specific interest to them due to their natural curiosity on a topic most adults don’t want to discuss. As many of them have likely seen a dead animal, it is a beautiful segue to teaching them more about the cycle of life. It fits neatly into our discussion of change, and also can be used with a lens of privilege by opening discussion about how different cultures and peoples look at death. In the light of social class, students may consider how death is experienced more often by less privileged people through sickness, violence, and war, and open their eyes to how the frequency of seeing death can shape a person’s perspective on the issue.

 

Link to critical article: http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol13/no10/ifoundadead.html