As a parent, teaching your child how to deal with death can be a difficult thing. It’s a hard concept to teach most children. If you are lucky, the first taste your child will have with death will be when they have a pet that dies. While, this is hard on children it does teach them something about what it feels like and how to move on after their trusted friend is gone.
This is what The Forever Dog helps to teach kids. The author, Bill Cochran came up with the idea for The Forever Dog when he lost his special friend, a Golden Retriever named Mo. The result is a beautiful book that offers an important message for children. While Cochran is new to writing books for children, the illustrator, Dan Andreasen, has contributed art to several different children’s books, such as Little House on the Prairie.
The Forever Dog deals with Mike and Corky. When Corky is brought home, Mike falls in love with him instantly. Despite the fact that no one knows what kind of dog Corky is, Mike loves him anyway. In fact, Corky and Mike loved one another so much they did everything together. Corky would even sleep on Mike’s head each night.
The two friends were inseparable. Wherever Mike went, Corky was in tow. Friendships like this are rare, but they made them seem natural. It only made sense when Mike and Corky created their forever plan. It was decided that the two would be together forever. For a long time, things with the forever plan were going perfectly.
However, good things can’t last forever and one day Corky gets sick and is taken to the vet. Mike is sad, but when he finds out that Corky is never coming home his sadness turns to anger. When Mike’s mother finds out why Mike is angry, Mike is taken through his memories and is taught the most important lessons about death.
The illustrations in The Forever Dog are beautiful and they go perfectly with the book. They offer a classic story feel, while remaining crisp and clear throughout. The story, on the other hand, is timeless and will be a perfect match for any child that is coping with some sort of death or that you want to learn about the possibility of death and how it might affect them.
Bottom Line: This one is highly recommended and should suit grieving children of up to around ten. If used for entertainment, you will probably shoot for younger children of no older than seven.
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Technorati Tags: Book Review, Children Book, Bill Cochran, The Forever Dog, Kids
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Thanks for the great review!
Bill