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Frog and the birdsong ISBN: 9780862649081
Velthuijs, Max
Published by Andersen Press, 1999
Frog comes to get Pig because he has found something - a blackbird on the ground. They think he is asleep. Duck arrives and decides he is ill. Hare comes along and announces, 'he's dead'. They discuss what 'dead' means, and they decide to bury the blackbird. They dig a deep hole: 'All his life he sang beautifully for us. Now he has earned his rest'. Solemnly, they bury him and put a pretty stone on top, then move away quietly. Suddenly, they are all playing again, running and laughing until sunset, when they hear another blackbird 'singing a lovely song' as always'. Simple concepts, movingly presented.
Age: 3+