CAPE BRETON – Statistics show that one in five Canadian children under the age of 18 will experience the death of someone close to them.
A former Moorefield-Rothsay United Church Minister has partnered with a Mi’kmaw business in Cape Breton to produce an inter-active children’s book to help families deal with the loss of people or pets they love.
I Lost Someone I Love: Explaining the Mystery of Death to the Youngest Among Us, is aimed at children three to eight years old.
“Children often get lost in the business of the rest of us preparing to say goodbye to a loved one,” says Rosemary Godin, a parent of two grown sons and a retired United Church minister now living in Nova Scotia. “This is a book meant for an adult to sit and read along with the child. The protagonist, Jamie, asks questions and there is space for the children to write in their answers or draw pictures.
“As I walked with people through memorial services for family members, I was often asked to suggest a resource book they could read to their little ones. But finding some – especially those with Canadian theology and outlook – were difficult to find.”
She used the quiet time during the pandemic to create one.
The illustrations were prepared by Kaylyn and Kassidy Bernard, owners of Patuo’kn Illustration of We’koqma’q First Nation in Cape Breton. They are simple and inclusive drawings that depict kids of all colours and many cultures. Even narrator Jamie is non-gender-specific in order for all children to be able to relate to them.
Godin, who is also a retired journalist, served the Moorefield-Rothsay Pastoral Charge for the United Church from 2009-2014. Pastoring to grieving families was a big part of her work.
“It was usually once the memorial service was finished that families would then start to wonder how they could explain the mystery of death and what happens to the loved one to their children. This book allows the child to talk about the person or pet, and begins a discussion about the concept of heaven,” Godin says.
The book is available online or at thankgoodness.ca.
