Kendall Lanning

The Fox and the Feather Kendall Lanning

Grief can be a difficult topic to address. This book has a beautiful way of giving hope to the grieving heart, while strengthening spiritual and emotional intelligence for both children and adults. After losing a loved one it can be comforting to know they are still connected to us, one of those ways is through signs. How does your loved one come to you in signs?
-Music, Coins, Smells, Dreams, Butterflies and Feathers are just to name a few.... The Fox and Cardinal are best friends. One day the Cardinal explains that he, "is sick and dying." Although, the Fox is sad and crying, the Cardinal reminds him to look for signs. One of those signs is a feather to assure they will always be together. The Fox comforts the Cardinal with his favorite scarf and says, "goodnight." At sunrise, the Fox waves good-bye to his best friend. The Fox would then find feathers as a reminder that the Cardinal is flying above him, although he cannot see him. Provided in the book are caregiver resources, such as developmental stages of grief and directs you to the website that has activities that accompany the story. The scarf activity is great for memory making and "letting go." There are also free puppet printouts to facilitate and utilize play to aid in coping.