Product Review: Goodbye Mousie [Paperback] (Age 4+)
‘An Excellent Choice to Help Young Readers Deal with Loss’ – School Library Journal
When I think of Brooke and her devotion to our now three crazy yet loveable cats, it is hard to not think of a time when the inevitable death of a beloved pet becomes a reality and how Bob and I will handle talking about it with our daughter. We have one cat we call the Million Dollar Cat who amazes us each year that he continues to live despite countless vet visits and permanent daily medication. He also happens to be the biggest Brooke supporter of the group and who will nuzzle up to her despite her loud child voice and hyper activeness. They still are very fond of each other despite their differences. When Spike’s time comes I want to offer comfort and support to our daughter and know it is perfectly healthy to miss our pet. You can’t replace your pet but you can honor and cherish the memories you had together.
Goodbye Mousie is a book about a young boy who wakes one morning to find that his pet, Mousie, would not wake up. The boy is in disbelief at first (Mousie is NOT dead!), then angry and then very, very sad. The boy’s parents do an excellent job of talking about Mousie and do a nice burial for his pet. The boy is still sad, but is able to understand that he has to say good-bye to his pet but does remember the good times they had together. The book feels like a very realistic story and (as indicated to the book’s dedication) it is probably because this is a true story. This book is a great way to talk about loss in a delicate but sensible way. What I thought would be a very sad read turned out to be a very comforting book and I would recommend it to any parent with small children and pets.
Goodbye Mousie [Paperback] (Age 4+)
List Price: $16.99 (Current sale price is $13.52)
Momma's Bacon 
Fantastic recommendation for a book to help kids cope with loss of a pet. I will keep this in mind when we have to deal with it.
I’d been wondering how to deal with stuff like this – our cat is pretty young but our 3 year old is constantly saying to her “I luff you kitty.” It makes me really sad to think about how sad he’ll be when she passes!
thanks for reviewing this.
Thanks for both your comments (Rebekah and JSolomon). I have been looking for a great book about dealing with the death of a pet and I actually have another really good review on one coming up on the same subject, too. Both great books coming at it from different aspects. It is such a hard subject to tackle since we treat our animals like children. It will be tough to let any of the cats go. Man! But it is nice to have these books in our bag for when the time does come. The books give you such great guidance on how to handle the situation with a small child.
This is a tough topic! Glad there’s books out there to help 🙂
Thanks so much for your comment, Evin. I totally agree! I like to talk to my child thorough book and thought this one was very helpful in dealing with a pet’s death. Hard topic, but easier when you talk about it.
The loss of a pet is a huge thing. Its’ wonderful to know that there are books out there to help kids better understand the loss and their feelings.
Thanks for the share.
🙂
Traci
Thanks so much for your comment, Traci. I completely agree.