Badger’s Parting Gifts

Story

Badger is getting old and knows he is soon going to die. He isn’t afraid of dying but he is concerned about how his friends will feel. He tells them that one day he will go down the long tunnel. The forest animals grieve for him all winter then in the spring talk about the good memories they had of Badger.

Why we chose it

A gentle book about loss and grief and the importance sharing memories. It is often used to help bereaved children talk about how they are feeling.

Where it came from

The idea for the story came from one of Susan Varley’s final year projects at Manchester Polytechnic. She had drawn a character of a badger and her tutor encouraged her to write a story about a badger who dies. Her grandmother had died the previous year, so the story idea resonated with her.

Associated stories

Other picture books about death and grieving include Goodbye Mog by Judith Kerr, Granpa by John Burningham, Rabbityness by Jo Empson and If All the World Were by Joseph Coelho and Allison Colpoys.