40 years in the making
A Story to Soothe Broken Hearts
Written by Kris Fenton Siwek and lovingly published by her daughter 30 years after her death
Why do the people we love sometimes die?
Why did they have to leave us, and can they come back?
Young Andy wants to know. He’s sad and confused because his dad has died. So on a quiet day in the springtime, Andy goes for a walk in the woods behind his house to think about what has happened.
In the woods, Andy meets Clyde — a talking caterpillar with stripes of black and yellow and white. Clyde the caterpillar helps Andy talk about his dad ... about how much he misses him and about how much he loved him. Talking to Clyde helps Andy feel safer and stronger, and a little less sad.
In this tender and heartwarming book by mother and artist Kris Fenton Siwek, Andy learns new ways to think about loss and he discovers that when we are our saddest, new friends and old memories can make us feel better. He also learns that caterpillars become butterflies and that people, too, have spirits that can live in our hearts forever.
Caterpillars Can’t Talk provides parents, grandparents, teachers and counselors with a new and gentle way to talk about what we feel when someone we love passes away. It is a simple, sweet, heartfelt story that opens conversations and helps entire families heal.
This acclaimed book, first written in 1982 and finally brought to publication in 2020, is ideal for children ages 4 through 12, and has been embraced by teens and adults as well. Whether we’re 6 or 60, we all grieve and we all hurt and we all wonder if we’ll ever stop feeling sad when someone we love dies.
A perfect gift for grieving families, and a vital resource to have on your home bookshelf long before tragedy strikes.
A book to read as a family, in the classroom and during counseling.
