Where Do They Go?

PreS-Gr 2—"When somebody dies,/where do they go?" This poem explores death through simple but evocative questions. ("Do they drift with the snow?/Are they sad? Are they cold?") Each question leads naturally to the next, providing gentle prompts for possible solace along the way: "Is it them that I feel, alive in my heart?/Is it there that I go when I'm sad we're apart?" The text and visuals keep the concept of the afterlife broad, which allows a wide variety of readers, regardless of their belief system, to seek comfort. The deceased is regularly depicted as a white space, similar to a cutout, sometimes in human form and sometimes as an object. While there is no direct reference to religion, one image includes a figure that resembles an angel. Warm woodblock illustrations use glimpses of the natural world to extend the abstract but universal quality of the book and the topic.