FIAR - The Clown of God

[engu]

We did a little activity and read "The Clown of God" before I put dd5 to bed tonight. It was our first time to read this book. The story had a sad ending with the main character having died at the end. We talked about the story and about our faith, but I could tell that the book had made quite an impression on her (as it did on me), she was quite emotional and sober. We prayed together, and I talked to her and I tried to cheer her up before putting her to bed.

 

This is the first time that dd has read a book that has had such an emotional impact. Part of me feels concern that she may not yet be emotionally ready (nearly 5), however another part of me wants dd (and myself) to unravel, learn and delve deeper into this great children's classic literature.

 

What do you think ...?

[Michele B]

My oldest child was bothered by it at that age as well. That makes it even more important, in my opinion. People die. Some generations in some areas and in some times may not experience the death of a loved one as often or at such a young age, but it could happen to anyone at anytime so I think it is worthwhile to cover it early especially in such a beautiful, loving, and sensitive way as Clown of God.

[truebird]

I read this book with my kids in 2009, and they also initially had a solemn, sober reaction. I had some mixed feelings about it at the time, mainly because I was caught off guard, I think. But they seemed to be handling/processing it well, and I decided it was probably a good idea to help them begin to have an understanding of the topic. We read and discussed Charlotte's Web shortly thereafter.

 

Within a few months of reading those books, my brother died unexpectedly at age 29. I was so glad I hadn't tried to hide the topic of death from my kids. It's an illusion to think we have much say over when it will enter our lives. That was such a difficult year for our family, and I'm glad I'd already begun to give my children the tools for how to process it when I was calm and able to focus entirely on them, rather than when I was shocked and grieving.

[mystika1]

 

My oldest child was bothered by it at that age as well. That makes it even more important, in my opinion. People die. Some generations in some areas and in some times may not experience the death of a loved one as often or at such a young age, but it could happen to anyone at anytime so I think it is worthwhile to cover it early especially in such a beautiful, loving, and sensitive way as Clown of God.

:iagree:

[Stellalarella]

This book was also a somber read for my children who were 5, 4, 3 at the time. They asked many questions and wanted to read the book over and over and over again. It wasn't Five In A Row for us, I think it was Twenty In A Row.

 

I am glad I exposed my children to this story. I felt like it was a very appropriate and kind way to deal with a subject that is unavoidable.

[Five More Minutes]

I agree with the previous posts. The Clown of God was initially a bit of a shock for us all and there were a few tears. It prompted many questions and opened up conversations that we probably wouldn't jumped into otherwise. We all ended up loving the book. I think that it represents one of the values of literature in its exposure to real experiences that aren't typically discussed in every day life.

[shinyhappypeople]

I thought it was a beautiful story, but my kids refused to listen to it more than once. It was just too sad for them :(

[MiztrezzLyn]

I haven't read this or read it to any of my children, I will look at it though. When he was 4 his hamster died. It was gutwrenching when the hamster died, he wrote a letter to be buried with him and cried and cried. It was really hard for him.

 

Then 4 months later his grandmother died, this is the only grandparent he knew and it was just REALLY hard. I *wish* I had broached the subject before then, and while the hamster dying did offer up the opportunity and we talked about it, I don't think he saw it in the same way since this was a human being that he really really loved that was gone. Even today, almost 2 years later, he can't really talk about it. He has a great aunt that looks a lot like his grandmother and we saw her a month ago at a family get together and he mistook her for his grandmother and then seemingly went through the whole grief process again.

 

My youngest is 3 and I am going to have to cover this topic sometime. Maybe when she's 4, I'll read this with her and see how it goes. I'm just really nervous to bring up this topic because of how my son reacts :(

 

It's hard stuff!

[engu]

thanks eveyone for your thoughts.

[LAS in LA]

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs is another book by the same author, which deals very beautifully with the death of the author's great-grandmother.

[Tracy]

I think that it is vital to talk to our kids about death at a time when they are not experiencing a personal loss. Yes, it may cause some emotion--perhaps even a whole lot of it. But just imagine what would happen if that same emotional child had a sudden personal loss. I think you are absolutely right to consider using this book as a way of exploring those emotions and discussing your personal beliefs about death.

[MiztrezzLyn]

I think that it is vital to talk to our kids about death at a time when they are not experiencing a personal loss. Yes, it may cause some emotion--perhaps even a whole lot of it. But just imagine what would happen if that same emotional child had a sudden personal loss. I think you are absolutely right to consider using this book as a way of exploring those emotions and discussing your personal beliefs about death.

 

I do agree with you but WHEN is the question. I know that I probably waited too long? I'm not sure at all, I thought we had more time. He was 4 when he lost his grandmother, that just seemed so young to me to approach the topic. However, as someone said earlier you can't choose when those kinds of things will happen to you. I really do wish we had covered it a lot earlier.

[Tracy]

I do agree with you but WHEN is the question. I know that I probably waited too long? I'm not sure at all, I thought we had more time. He was 4 when he lost his grandmother, that just seemed so young to me to approach the topic. However, as someone said earlier you can't choose when those kinds of things will happen to you. I really do wish we had covered it a lot earlier.

 

I honestly don't think that you can do discuss this too young. There was a time in history when death was much more a part of life. I have pictures of my great-grandfather's casket in my great-aunt's house. Families used to dig the graves of their deceased family. People used to live on farms where animals died every year.

 

You can start with discussing the lives of bugs and what happens to animals during a difficult season. You can talk about people that you loved that died. I talk about my dear grandfather to my kids all the time. Most of the time, I just tell them about him. But sometimes I mention that I miss him. I tell them that I believe that I will see him again when I die. They need to feel that death is a part of life and that the associated emotions are okay and normal. Even more so if the child has experienced a death. It is easier for the child to process when you are not talking about the child's direct experience.

[kolamum]

We did not row this book for a variety of reasons.. One reason was the death of the main person. We do own it though.. Angelo in Vol. IV ends with the death of the main person and I wasn't impressed with that one. I knew it would be too much for my son.

 

That said, Rag Coat also has death in it, but we really enjoyed that book.