I have mail, you have mail, we all have mail. I know I'm not alone in feeling overwhelmed at times by the number of emails that arrive in my inboxes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - like a leaky faucet, drip after perpetual drip. I'm drowning in a deluge of emails. And I see no light at the end of this virtual postal tunnel.
Thankfully, some emails result in something special like one I received at work earlier this summer letting me know of a newly published book with stellar reviews. That got this children's librarian's attention. I read those reviews and came across the words "heartwarming," "touching" and "moving," over and over. So, I decided to purchase "Birds of a Feather: A Children's Story of Love, Loss and What Came Next" by Tom Crice for our picture book collection. I'm so glad and grateful I did.
The reviews were spot on - it is a heartwarming story about a young boy who loses his grandfather and feels the accompanying questions and sadness we all have when someone we love is no longer physically in our life. And in true picture book loveliness, the boy comes to find both comfort and hope in the most unlikely of places - in a subway where he sees a pair of birds. It is here he, and we the readers, begin to experience how our hearts, so awash in sorrow can begin to expand to make room for cherished memories of our loved one.
It's such a gift - a simple yet profound message because none of us knows the moment when loss drops into our life and becomes a watershed hollow. Loss is unavoidable and comes time and time again.
It is as much a part of life as the promising morning sunrise and the quiet evening sunset. And just as we learn from the young boy in this beautiful book, it is our remembrances that help us move forward in life, as we must.
Like all outstanding books for children, "Birds of a Feather" knows no age range. Its story is as meaningful to a 6-year-old as it is for this 62-year-old woman. I know first-hand because I have read and re-read it and will continue to do so. Its gentle story of connection, meaning and hope speak tenderly to me as I feel the deep sadness of three significant losses evolving in my own life right now.
So, personally and professionally, I thank author Tom Crice and illustrator Ellen Rakatansky for bringing this book to life.
And I also thank them for the email that came my way a few short months ago letting me know of this touching book. That email resulted in a special gift to us all.
Kathleen Tara Ahern is the children's librarian at Neill Public Library in Pullman.
