All the Dear Little Animals

‘The whole world is full of dead things,’ said Esther. ‘In every bush there is a bird, a butterfly, a mouse. Someone must be kind and look after them. Someone must make a sacrifice and see that all these things are buried.’ ‘Who must?’ I asked. ‘We must,’ she said. Esther was very brave. I was little and scared. One summer’s day we started a business called Funerals Ltd., to help all the poor dead animals in the world. Esther did the digging, I wrote the poems, and Esther’s little brother, Puttie, cried.

"First published in Sweden, the book has a childlike tone that is reverent, winsome, and matter-of-fact. The kids’ attitudes toward death differ realistically according to their ages and personalities. Sometimes amusing and sometimes moving, Nilsson’s simply written text is always satisfying. Eriksson’s sensitive, beguiling pencil drawings with color washes brighten every double-page spread. Like Margaret Wise Brown’s The Dead Bird (1958, 2016), this pitch-perfect book shows children dealing with death in their own ways and then moving on."

"Deftly translated by Marshall, the text laces honest consideration of a difficult subject with winningly mordant humor. Lindgren Award–winner Eriksson’s (My Heart Is Laughing) lightly penned images of the children burying animals are the visual equivalent of Nilsson’s offhand tone. It’s only after the children tackle logistical matters—touching corpses, how to explain death to Esther’s little brother, whether the gravestones need proper names—that a moment of real tenderness occurs: they witness a blackbird’s sudden death, and even brusque Esther is moved. A sly, thoughtful, many-layered story."

"The story cleverly—and tenderly—pivots near its end, giving it a touching depth (with a twist). Eriksson’s keenly observed illustrations include full-page and double-page spreads as well as spots, and they are as wickedly hilarious as the text in their understated expressions and details."

"Witty, first-person narration, rhyming poetry, and warm illustrations accentuate this child-centered, compassionate exploration of death (and thus life).

Outstanding International Book"

Ulf Nilsson is a celebrated children’s writer in Sweden. He has written more than 20 books for all ages, including All the Dear Little Animals (Gecko Press). He is the winner of the August Award and the American Batchelder Award. He wrote the 'Detective Gordon' junior fiction series, published to international acclaim by Gecko Press.

Eva Eriksson is one of the world’s great illustrators. Her awards include the Astrid Lindgren Prize and the August award and she is consistently nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen and other international awards. Eriksson has illustrated numerous books published by Gecko Press including the internationally popular My Happy Life junior fiction series.

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