The Birds’ Christmas Carol

Books shape our lives and soothe our restless souls. Books teach us lessons about life and living. Family. Traditions. History. My mind has only ever been uplifted, enlightened, or educated by books. Antique books are a passion for me, and I collect literature from 1880 to 1910, in particular the “Lifestyle” books that instruct on how to live your life. Past writings have showcased a few of those books in my MEDIUM stories, however, I must include this wonderful book by Kate Douglas Wiggin.

Because I have worked in the Death Care Industry for the past decade, this little book is one that could be used to help introduce the concept of death and dying to school-age children in a very caring and empathetic way. From experience, I can tell you that we do not normalize death or the dying process in our western culture, and we tend to live our lives as if we are immortal and that death will never visit us or our household. We do a disservice to children in this regard.

Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856 — August 24, 1923) was an American educator, author, and composer. She wrote wonderful children’s stories, most notably the classic children’s novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and she composed collections of children’s songs. She started the very first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (called the Silver Street Free Kindergarten). Along with her sister during the…