Grandpa and the Kingfisher

GRANDPA AND THE KINGFISHER is a gentle story about the life cycle and death. Grandpa and grandchild are out by the water when they see a kingfisher and the grandfather describes its actions and family. The male kingfisher and its mate are settling into their nest, feeding their little ones, and after they have grown, the parents die. Grandpa describes how nature continues on and that this is all the way things go to make space for new things. At the end of the story when the baby kingfishers have returned, the boy remarks about missing his grandfather and wishing he could be there to see them.

What I loved: The story is written with a lyrical prose and matching illustrations that describe the beauty and majesty of nature. It also introduces the concept of the life cycle and death without too much emotion, showing first what happens to the kingfishers and then implying what has happened with the grandfather as well. This would work as a conversation starter for loss and missing loved ones.

The book also has a QR code, which can be used to download an audiobook that will read the story for children. This is great in general, but this may be a book better read closely between caregiver and child so that tough discussions can be had around the content.

What left me wanting more: Kingfishers actually live for several years, but this made it seem like they would only really live for a year or two, and describes the parents dying not long after having their little ones. For sensitive readers, this could seem to imply that they might lose their parents, especially as the boy loses his caregiver (grandfather) at the end. It may have been helpful to show who was taking care of the boy to aid in discussions. This is definitely a book that will need to be shared and discussed closely between caregiver and child to fully understand and elaborate on life/death and grief/loss.

Final verdict: GRANDPA AND THE KINGFISHER tackles the tough topic of life cycles with lovely illustrations and prose that will work best for older picture book readers who can understand the complexity of this topic.

A child learns about the life cycle by observing a Kingfisher family with their grandfather. The illustrations are in calm pastel greens and blues and slowly introduce the idea of death as both the grandfather and the Kingfisher adults age. This book is a celebration of nature and is meant to be a gentle introduction to the natural ending for us all one day. This was a sweetly done book introducing death and life cycles and does not go into grief or feelings about the topic. I would know your audience and be ready for harder discussions that may arise from this book before choosing to read this with younger children.