The Dead Bird

by Margaret Wise Brown, Remy Charlip (Illustrator)

One day, the children find a bird lying on its side with its eyes closed and no heartbeat. They are very sorry, so they decide to say good-bye. In the park, they dig a hole for the bird and cover it with warm sweet-ferns and flowers. Finally, they sing sweet songs to send the little bird on its way.

Genres: Picture Books, Death, Childrens, Animals, Birds, Grief, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.

Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.

She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.

She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.

Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

And as a mother, I'd really like to add a line, "and then the children washed their hands."

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much of the time, especially now that I am a library teacher, I find myself looking for books that fill some kind of purpose. This book is pretty much useless for talking about loss with kids. This book is certainly no good at all if you want to instill any sense of hygiene in your children. Its plot is ambiguous, its themes beyond what we tend to consider children capable of grasping, and the illustrations are dated. I'm done assessing it as a librarian and teacher now, and can approach the book as a human being and a former child. We forget to do that sometimes, and The Dead Bird reminded me exactly why it's so incredibly important that we do. If we didn't, we'd dismiss this work of art and poetry as a poor example of a genre or a failure as a teaching tool instead of as a book. Picture books are, after all, first and foremost books. They are books written for children and frequently featuring child characters who hopefully have some verisimilitude. This book accomplishes all of that and more. Somehow, within its pages, I was transported to that moment before I quite understood the adult realities of death, back when it was a mythological state, known but not understood. We think we can understand it as adults, ascribe our religious or personal philosophies of life after death or a lack thereof, and process the gaps and holes the losses we experience leave in our lives. The Dead Bird, however, portrays no such loss. It begins with a dead bird, not a live one, and the children react to the bird's death as a fait accompli. The bird is an object onto which they can project what a bird is and what a dead thing is. How can they help but do so? The children are uniquely positioned to mourn the bird's loss, because they have not known or loved the bird, and thus do not feel the loss themselves. The loss is the bird's, not theirs, and they pay homage to that loss, touch it, stroke it, and commune with it, and then forget it. Read this book like a poem. Forget what you know about books for kids, forget what you know about kids, if possible, and just experience it. It would be a shame to miss this.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some children find a bird that has died and bury it in the woods and put flowers on it's grave. They feel sad and go back to put more flowers on and sing to it, eventually they forget and at the end they are shown playing by the woods.

I didn't expect to like such a gloomy story but this story had a nice balance between feeling sad for the bird, remembering it, and moving on as we all have to do eventually with the loss of a loved one. The illustrations are really beautiful.

Read on openlibrary.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is true, many children do seem to enjoy the stab of pathos incumbent on finding dead a creature that has no personal weight for them. Kudos to Brown for recognizing that and treating it realistically, I guess? I'm not sure what the point of this story was. Unless you are a kid who has been accused of being morbid or something; then I suppose it helps to know you aren't alone. Go on, kids, dwell on dead birds and darkness and roses losing their petals. Wear black if you want, or conversely, forget the bird and go back to playing tag with your pals as the kids here do at the end. Who wants to dwell on mortality?

I read this edition with illustrations by Remy Charlip, not the Christian Robinson reissue.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book that will help children cope with death by celebrating life.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some children find a dead bird, and while they're sad that the bird will never fly again, they're glad that they can hold a funeral. And, so they do, complete with a song, and shed tears. Children may enjoy this one more than I did. Originally published in 1938, this is a recent reissue with illustrations by Christian Robinson.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bird was dead when the children found it.

Remember the huge kerfuffle over the video of a little girl toting a squirrel corpse around the yard? If you were one of the people who flipped out over that, then you're not going to want to read this book.
I'm not sure why this whole, "Don't touch it, you'll get a disease" idea persists now that we've got flea collars and inoculations for plagues. Some people think children shouldn't touch dead animals and that's fine, I suppose, but I think it also makes for fearful children who then become fearful adults. This book, on the other hand, exists to help kids understand that death is a natural part of life.

This tale was written in 1938 and republished in 1965. You may or may not have read it as a child, yourself. At some point thereafter, it fell out of fashion, and may now be considered a horror story as it's about a band of playing children who find a dead bird and decide to bury it. It's just been re-illustrated and republished this year (2016) so that a whole new set of kids can experience death vicariously.

The wonderful thing about this book is that it illustrates, literally and figuratively, a common moment in a child's life. Remember burying dead things? Making little headstones and placing flowers atop the mound after some heartfelt but fumbling prayers for the tiny soul's journey to heaven?
Do kids still do that? I know my nieces and nephews do but that's because we taught them to. My little neighbors do, too, but I know other kids in the 'hood who don't. They watch their parents throw dead things in the trash. Those kids are also meaner than the kids who live next to me. Connection? Perhaps.

It's ok for children to be curious about death and it's ok for them to see and even touch dead animals. Fine, I guess they should probably wear gloves because rabies or something, but still, holding a dead animal and understanding that it will never frolic in the underbrush again, then burying the critter and feeling sad, these are good experiences that probably teach empathy, teamwork, and other nonsense of that sort. But if you're still too icked out at the thought of death and plagues and backyard burials, maybe don't read this book.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for making me cry in the library.

"And every day, until they forgot, they went and sang to their little dead bird and put fresh flowers on his grave."

So tender! So poignant! So utterly devastating!

I can never read this book again.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps in its day it was bold and revolutionary for being so matter-of-fact about addressing death in a manner children could understand but I'd prefer a direct conversation with my kids and I am able to do that. The constant reminder that the bird was dead felt like.....well...beating a dead bird perhaps.

I'd put this in a limited scope of usefulness akin to potty-training books. They may help in a specific process or context but it's not exactly the sort of story you sit down to read just for the sake of reading a book to your child.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am misty-eyed as I type. Seldom have I come across a book that treats death as the simultaneously sacred and mundane occurrence that it is, and with such powerful simple and straightforward text. and the illustrations...did anyone else see this book being translated really easily into a Wes Anderson short film? Brilliant.

[Cheryl]

The book I wanted to read is the original, illustrated by the acclaimed Remy Charlip. I have no idea if I'd like his art better for this story, but I have to admit I'm not keen on Robinson's. I wonder if Brown's estate wanted this to be in print for modern children, but Charlip's didn't? Whatever.

The story itself captures the children's perspectives and all their feelings about what death means perfectly and concisely. Children do have a genuine understanding of loss, of the fragility of life, and they also love ceremony and drama.... so of course they'd have a funeral with all the solemn rituals.

I believe I'd rate this four stars if I didn't know there was an original to compare it to. I hope my other library fills my requests for that....

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the frankness of this book as it deals with the dead bird and how the children encounter, experience, and honor it. Robinson's illustrations keep it lighter and match the pitch-perfect childlikeness of this one. Touches on the natural world, on loss, on ritual. It's weird, but it's weird-good.

[Bethany Owens · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think that this book is appropriate for children. It's very morbid and a little too descriptive.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Then they cried because their
singing was so beautiful and the ferns
smelled so sweetly and the bird was dead.

Can't you tell by the cover of four kids flying a yellow kite that this is a story about a dead bird? No? Well, let me help you out. This is the story of a very dead bird. Some children find it when it's still warm, but then it gets stiff and cold so they bury it and sing and impress themselves so much with their bird funeral that they cry. Then they visit the bird until they forget about it.

I'm not sure what the point is supposed to be. Children have fairly short attention spans? (We don't really need a book to tell us that.) Dead animals are cold and their hearts don't beat? (I would hope that would be a given.) Kids should go around touching dead animals and rubbing them against their faces? (*shudder*)

This is a weird little picture book. I guess it sort of teaches very small children about death. But I hope they wouldn't extrapolate it to humans. Otherwise, poor, dead great-grandpa is going to be passed over for a game of catch.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a weird and wonderful picture book. Also excellent timing for this book to appear on our new book shelves, as I accidentally killed a baby bird yesterday and have spent the last 24 hours traumatized.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to do a creepy story time with this book, The Tailypo, Louis King of the Sheep, etc.

Also have concluded that Margaret Wise Brown books are basically what being on drugs must be like.

[laura (bookies & cookies) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was first published in 1938 which explains SOOOOO much because this book was hella weird.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books truly do stand the test of time, and this one, which tackles the tough topic of death with respect, honesty, and a slight touch of humor leavened with the awareness that time makes us forget things, even when it is a brush with death. With stunning traditional media and Photoshop illustrations, this picture book breathes new life into a memorable classic, published originally in 1938, if you can believe that. Four children come across a dead bird on their way to play in the park. Like most youngsters, they are curious and pick it up. As time passes, it grows colder and stiffer, and they know there is nothing they can do other than to bury it. That's exactly what they do, even going to the trouble of wrapping it up tenderly in leaves and ferns and singing a song celebrating its life. They even place a stone and flowers on its grave and then go about their business. There is simply something that breaks my heart in its truth in those closing words, though: "And every day, until they forgot, they went and sang to their little dead bird and put fresh flowers on his grave" (unpaged). These are thoughtful children, caring and compassionate, and they certainly mean well, but it intrigues me how they get caught up in the grief process and become quite emotional over a creature they never even knew, and then how quickly, they forget it all. Wow! So many possibilities for classroom use with this book, including coping with loss, but also discussing the steps of the grieving process and how each of us deals with it differently, some taking comfort from rituals while others do not. Clearly, savvy teachers will want to have their students compare and contrast this modern depiction of the children's classic with the illustrations in the original one. I consider it to be a marvelously honest look at how children regard death, which is often quite different from the reaction of adults.

[Booker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for work. It was incredible. I believe it is out of print now, but it follows four children as they come across a dead bird. They hold it and listen for a heartbeat, but realize it is dead. They decide to bury it, hold a funeral, sing to the bird, and mark the grave. They return to place new flowers on the grave and sing to the dead bird until eventually, they resume play. It was awesome. I read an interview of Margaret Wise Brown in her alumni magazine and also learned about the illustrator who passed away in August of this year. It was time well spent.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A picture book about four kids who find a dead bird and bury it. Some might find it morbid. Some might see that it's a great little story about how young kids handle death, and how they pay tribute to the dead, well, until they forget. Simple, but wonderful. I'd read it to my kids. Then again, I'd read Edward Gorey to them too.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple tale about death. Often teaching children about this sometimes scary occurrence can be more approachable when dealing with an animal. The text is easy but direct and the pictures are dated but for me were familiar and soothing.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect book.

[Gabriel Infierno · Rating 5 out of 5]

NO, you are crying <3, beautiful book

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a reillustrated edition of the classic picture book by Margaret Wise Brown. In the story, a group of children find a dead bird in the park. They check for a heartbeat but don’t find one. They are very sorry the bird has died and decide to have a funeral for it. So they dig a hole and fill it with sweet ferns and flowers. The sing a song and cry a bit too. Then they head off to play. They do visit for awhile, bringing fresh flowers to the little grave, and they slowly stop remembering to come.

This is such an honest book about death and grief. It captures that intense wave of sorrow upon finding a dead animal, the immediate connection children have to that creature and the importance of following through in a process of loss. The writing is superb, capturing these complex feelings but also not endowing them with too much weight. There is also a feeling of time passing and life moving on, even though the sadness was so large at first.

Robinson’s illustrations are engagingly simple with whimsical touches. One of the children wears butterfly or fairy wings as they play and another is in a fox mask and tail. They have a large dog along with them and a kite to fly. The children have the friendly expressions of Fisher Price dolls, a curve of smile and dot eyes. The illustrations show the same kind of frankness that marks the text as well.

Refreshingly honest and forthright, this picture book is a smart reworking of a classic story that will resonate with today’s children. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did some reading around the book and found that, apparently, it took Wise Brown's death and a significant time to pass between it first being written before The Dead Bird was published (from 1938-1958 to be extact). A very different book to the far more commercially successful, Goodnight Moon The Dead Bird tells the story of four children in the park finding the body of a small bird and choosing to bury it.

Originally illustrated by Remy Charlip (whose version also looks excellent), this version has been reimagined by Christian Robinson whose basic and simple style, I feel, support the surface simplicity of the story. The characters are far more diverse in ethnicity and the positioning throughout of the reader's view is interesting and reflective. What Robinson brings to the story is a sense that the event really happened to children in a real place and I think this brings the story closer to the younger reader.

I'm so glad that Wise Brown's story has been reprinted. I remember well coming across a dead animal for the first time and feeling the same, curious feelings that the characters in this book do too. They are gentle and thoughtful in their reflection and their actions after show a sensitivity and innocent playfulness which captures the mind of a young child far so well.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of children discover a dead bird.

On their way to play in the park, a diverse group of children stumble across a dead bird. They know the bird is dead because it had no heart beat and because it was cold and still. They were sorry it was dead and could never fly again.

Imitating grownups, they hold an impromptu funeral for the bird, wrapping in ferns for a shroud, singing a lament, placing a headstone, and planting flowers on its grave. In the days that followed, they continued to visit the graveside until they forgot.

This is a rather touching story. Margaret Wise Brown revolutionized children's literature with Goodnight Moon by insisting that instead of the fairy tales and fantasy that traditionally made up the bulk of stories marketed to young people, children wanted to read books that reflected the world around them and their own experience. With The Dead Bird, Brown tackles the issue of death.

This would be a good introduction to the concept especially if the reader is secular. There is no mention -- either for or against -- of an afterlife. Rather death is a reality the children encounter, comprehend, and accept with sadness. They mourn the loss of possibility accompanying the loss of life: now the bird will never fly or sing again.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Christian Robinson's illustrations and they were what drew me to the book; I did not realize at first that it was an new version of a 1960s publication by Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. I love how Robinson updated the work to make the children multicultural and the setting more modern. But I particularly loved how he, and Brown, demonstrate the ways in which children accept death, mourning, and renewal. I vividly remember burying a beloved guinea pig as a child, and my daughter experienced a similar situation, participating in a funeral for a close friend's pet. These are rituals of comfort which help little ones gain understanding, and I'm glad that the author and illustrator accept and share them instead of sweeping them under the rug with concerns about hygiene, morbidity, or repression of feelings in a world where we are expected to avoid the topic and get over it. A valuable look at an important passage in childhood.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gets a 4 just for the title. I love how ahead of her time Margaret Wise Brown was in putting this book out. She believed children should talk about difficult topics, and that books can help open the conversation. For death, Brown and Robinson) displace the darkness of the topic by making it about a bird rather than a person, by having a group of kids do the action together, and by setting the book in a vibrant green springtime. The springy setting reminds me of The Smiths' song, "Girlfriend in a Coma" which has one of the catchiest bouncy tunes I've ever heard, and I so appreciate that kind of irony. UNC has the 1958 version--I hope I can get my hands on a 1938 edition...

[Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the reillustrated version by Christian Robinson - the art is lovely. I was really moved by the story. Picture books about death are hard to come by, and this is just perfect for opening up a conversation.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even with updated illustrations, this still holds up as a) a book I would not give to children and b) a bizarre account of dealing with death. I highly recommend a dramatic reading among adults.