Grandad Bill's Song

by Jane Yolen

Book Overview

After Grandad Bill dies, everyone in the family remembers him differently. But reminiscences do nothing to help a young boy cope with his loss, until he recalls his own feelings on the day his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399218025
• ISBN13: 9780399218026
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Philomel Books
• Length: 28 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.8" x 10.8"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A Book You Can Relate To

Death is a tragic event that many people react to in many ways. Grandad Bill's Song does a wonderful job at relating how different relations to Grandad Bill react to his death. The words are not only poetic and filled with emotion, but also accepting to however one feels. The illustrations capture how full and rich one's life is with "snapshots" depicting different characteristics of Grandad Bill. Grandad Bill's Song is a book that can be used with children and adults both to help in the grieving process of a death of a loved one. The book discusses different emotions, shows the different relationships to the characters in the story, and offers comfort and validation to the feelings of the different characters. Additional explanation should be used with this book to clarify who is speaking. Jon, the young boy's voice, is printed in italics, which is not the most obvious to inexperienced readers.

Grandad Bill's Song

This is an excellent book The child in the story had many questions on how people felt when his grandfather died. It gently discussed the feelings of sadness and the memories that keep the person alive within us. It raised the childs awareness that his grandfather lived an entire lifetime that included a childhood, young adulthood through his role as a grandad. It discussed how one person, Grandad's son, felt that he needed to be the "strong one." He felt the pressure of having to take charge of the funeral arrangements, thus having to suppress his own feelings of grief and sadness. He felt the need to support the family and friends around him. The child then expressed the feelings that he had at the time of the death which included anger and sadness. This book addresses the wide range of feeling experienced when a loved one dies. The feelings range from denial to sadness to anger. The sharing of all the memories that many people held really honors the grandfathers life. It shows a life well lived and that Grandad was well loved. The illustrations were wonderful, soft, tender, gentle. This book is well written, almost a quiet musical feel. It is an excellent resourse for those trying to prepare children and adults alike, for the feelings that will be experienced by the loss of a loved one. It is an excellent book to introduce the concept of loss.

poignant look at the loss of a grandfather

This book was a beautifully written book and one that has touched my life and that of my children, and the rest of my family. The author focuses on the different people that this man had related to and their memory of him when he was gone. I lost my grandfather 12 years ago and this book gave me the snapshot of him in all of the different eyes of people in my family. I also shared this book with a young girl who had lost her father to cancer and I believe it prompted her to make snapshots of her father and that his memory would live with her forever. A wonderful book to cherish forever.