Caterpillars Can’t Talk: A Children’s Story About Love, Loss and Transformation
Recommended Age: 4 — 12
Type: Feelings Books, Grief/Loss
Recommended by Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
Young Andy wants to know. He’s sad and confused because his dad has died. So on a quiet day in the springtime, Andy goes for a walk in the woods behind his house to think about what has happened.
In the woods, Andy meets Clyde — a talking caterpillar with stripes of black and yellow and white. Clyde the caterpillar helps Andy talk about his dad … about how much he misses him and about how much he loved him. Talking to Clyde helps Andy feel safer and stronger, and a little less sad.
In this tender and heartwarming book by mother and artist Kris Fenton Siwek, Andy learns new ways to think about loss and he discovers that when we are our saddest, new friends and old memories can make us feel better. He also learns that caterpillars become butterflies and that people, too, have souls that can live in our hearts forever.
Caterpillars Can’t Talk provides parents, grandparents, teachers and counselors with a new and gentle way to talk about what we feel when someone we love passes away. It is a simple, sweet, heartfelt story that opens conversations and helps entire families heal.