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  • Published: 4 January 2005
  • ISBN: 9780143501442
  • Imprint: Picture Puffin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $23.00

Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes in Between



A gentle, heartfelt and comforting guide to help children navigate the wonders of existence, from the joyful beginnings to the peaceful endings.

Have you ever wondered why a butterfly lives for only a few weeks? Or why a tree lives for hundreds of year?

You may have been sad when someone in your family, or a favourite pet became sick and died.

There is a beginning and an ending to everything that is alive. In between is a lifetime.
Dying is a much a part of living as being born.

In this tender and indispensable picture book children will discover:

*The cycle of life and death, explained in a comforting and child-friendly manner
*Empathy and emotional intelligence as they explore sensitive yet significant aspects of life
*How to engage in thoughtful conversations with adults, fostering understanding and openness
*Resilience building strategies to cope gracefully with life's inevitable changes and transitions
*Appreciation for the present moment, finding joy in life's simple yet profound pleasures
*How to find comfort and reassurance in understanding life and death as a serene and natural process

Discussing lifecycles in a way that is comprehensible and comforting for young readers, Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes in Between is an essential resource to explain the concept of life and death to children in a sensitive and understandable manner. Through Robert Ingpen's captivating illustrations, children can visualize and comprehend the abstract concepts of life and death.

  • Published: 4 January 2005
  • ISBN: 9780143501442
  • Imprint: Picture Puffin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $23.00

About the authors

Robert Ingpen

Robert Ingpen has illustrated more than a hundred books for children and adults in his forty-year career. He is the only Australian to have been awarded the highest honour in the children’s book world – the Hans Christian Andersen Medal – for his lasting contribution to literature. In 1989, he was awarded the Dromkeen Medal, for his commitment to the appreciation and development of literature for young people. He is one of Australia’s best-loved artists and illustrators.

Bryan Mellonie

For over twenty years, Bryan Mellonie's Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes In Between has been a wonderful source of comfort for both children and adults, with its sensitive discussions about death and beautiful celebration of living. Lifetimes is currently listed with many organisations that deal with difficult issues such as recovery from sickness and disease and dealing with the inevitability of death from someone suffering a terminal illness.