The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Jim LaMarche

Tiger Rose loves her happy, peaceful home. She loves all the beautiful things in her world. But she's old and tired and her body hurts. She says goodbye to the animals that have been her friends, and the animals she has chased, to the parents who have fed her and the children who have loved her. She says goodbye to everything and then curls up to sleep and in her sleep makes one last jump into the sky and becomes part of everything around her.

Jane Yolen has written a beautiful, poetic text which is joined by Jim LaMarche's soft pastel illustrations to create a comforting story about the natural cycle of life and death. Depending on your beliefs about death, for humans and/or animals, this is a gentle and reassuring story for children dealing with the death of a pet.

I wouldn't recommend putting this into the general picture book collection, since most parents will want to review it before reading it to their children, but it's a good addition to your parenting or tough topics collection.

Verdict: This is one of the better children's books about death, especially of a pet, and if you have a suitable place for it in your collection, I recommend purchasing it for parents looking for a general "it's all natural" approach to death and grieving.


ISBN: 9780375866630; Published May 2011 by Random House; Review copy provided by publisher through Raab Associates