Two friends sit on a stump enjoying nature around them.

With a particular love of birds, they walk through a forest listening for their favourite.

To their confusion, they cannot hear the blackbird’s song. When they do find it, it’s lying still on a path. Soon, with help from other forest creatures, they realise the truth. The blackbird has died.

This gentle hardback picture book explores the difficult subject of death and loss, and eventually a funeral on the grieving friend’s terms. The friends are in fact a mushroom and a squirrel, offering wee listeners humour as the story begins.

Finishing with a positive note (another bird begins to sing), Is it Asleep? is a comforting way to approach this difficult subject at a child’s level.

Curiosity, sadness and a goodbye are all part of the narrative, illustrated in the natural tones of the surrounding forest.

Author / Illustrator – Oliver Tallec

Picture Book

(2025, Gecko Press, NZ, Aotearoa, New Zealand, Friendship, Grief, Loss, Death, Respect, Love, Animals)

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