Michael Rosen's Sad Book

I realy like the book...the story and the art work.

Although it is very sad and funny at times, the author describes so well with very few words the emotions one goes through when one loses a child, it is at the same time very poetic.The illustration is unique in its expression, also very touching, bringing out the heart and soul of thefather.It is truelly a masterpiece worthwhile to own even when one has not experienced a loss of that magnitude.

I recently lost my husband, and Rosen speaks to early grief perfectly, particularly sudden and out of sequence death. His poem on the page I photographed is: “Sad is a place / that is deep and dark / like the space under the bed / Sad is a place / that is high and light / like the sky above my head / When it’s deep and dark / I don’t dare go there / When it’s high and light / I want to be thin air. / The last bit means I don’t want to be here. / I just want to disappear.”If you think this will be too dark: For those who haven’t faced this, you’re right. For those who have lost someone close, particularly if unexpectedly, the book is exactly as dark as we need. Grief is a dark place, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s a mistake to try to make someone grieving “feel better”, or to suggest they appreciate their grief by making something good out of it.If you want to know the power and poignancy of early grief, and truly understand, buy a copy for yourself too.I bought the book myself, but I would have thanked anyone who gave it to me, and I would have felt that they really get how I’m feeling.On technical matters: The writer tells a simple story of the experience of grief, which is accompanied by watercolor illustrations colored to pair with the mood of the words. The author doesn’t abbreviate the experience, but distills it to its essential elements. And the final page, with no text at all, speaks the most of the silence that accompanies loss.

This book is very well done, but heads up, it’s specific to loss of a loved one. So if you, someone you know or your kids have lost someone then this might be great for them or you. If not, it might be a bit of a downer.

This is a book about coping with personal loss, one of the best I have seen. It is for children and adults alike. We can seem happy when we are sad, or vice versa. Sometimes we don't know how to feel - is there a right way to feel something? This is a simple, almost meditative story about life and loss, it will make you smile and cry at the same time. Michael Rosen has a very nice way of creating subtle meanings and asking big philosophical questions in the small and ordinary situations. A wonderful, wonderful book!

Ordered this book for children ages 10 and 6, whose grandfather is seriously ill. It enabled us to have a discussion about loss, fear, and sadness. Skillfully constructed and very powerful for helping children deal with grief and sadness.

The book fir our granddaughter who just lost her other grandmother looks lovely but I’m sad that the front cover is ripped.

A librarian recommended this book and if you have experienced PROFOUND loss, buy it. But it was recommended for a young child, ABSOLUTELY NOT. A father loses his young child and the book follows his struggle. This book deals well with the deepest levels of grief.

This book resonates so strongly with us. We have experienced our son premature death. Unlike Michael, Leon, our son suffered as a 19 yr old with Hodgkin's Lymphoma Cancer and was fortunate to recieve a bone marrow transplant which, gave him 20 years extra life. It is clear that Eddie's sudden death caused Michael so much shock,distress, pain and grief. Thank you Michael, for being able to create such a simple, but powerful in words and graphics book to help us all during our personel pain. I recommend this book to those who are having to cope with the loss of a loved one.

A masterpiece. Beautiful description of what it means to feel deeply sad about something. It's a very personal and honest account of how a loss never really leaves you, and how sadness comes and goes like waves.The language is simple and moving (like the best poetry), and doesn't trivialise grief with a disney finish of rainbows after the storm etc. But he does include things that help him (talking/writing etc). The book is perfect for helping children better understand their own sadness. I just love it.

A great book in every way....apart from the lines about doing very bad things, too bad to tell, and that it’s “not fair on the cat”. This totally ruined an otherwise excellent book. What is he doing that is so bad, to the cat? I could not believe no one else had picked up on this in the reviews I read. I don’t know whether he put this in as so called ‘black humour’ but to me there is no place for making any suggestion, real or otherwise, that hurting animals is okay. If this is not what Michael meant, then he should never have included the lines because as it stands it is too ambiguous for my liking.

I wish we had found this book earlier! It deals with Michael Rosen's grief at the loss of his son, yet the poignant, memorable, expressive text and illustrations make it a very accessible book on grief for all situations. I'd say this is probably for ages 9 and up to adult - and for a child to read with an adult. There's a lot to see in all the illustrations - like the sequence of pictures of which the cover is part - where the representation of how grief affects a person is spot on - making this very much a 'me too' book, one that will help a child identify how they are feeling and those around them too. It is a very Sad Book but a very honest and helpful one.It is also non-religious.

I bought this for a friend whose beautiful son had died, leaving a very lost brother behind. She said she could relate to this book so much, and read it to him and he could do. It's really, really moving, and beautifully written and illustrated.