The Fall of Freddie the Leaf (A Story of Life for All Ages)

Great little coffee table book to spark discussions on death and dying. Freddie the Leaf is worried about winter coming when he will fall off the tree and die. Gradually he begins to accept this as just one more step in the stages of life.

Freddie and his companion leaves change with passing seasons, finally falling to the ground with winter's snow, illustrating balance between life and death.

I have very fond memories of this book. My favorite book as a little kid, also my sisters. We would always go out looking for freddie in the falltime.

This is one of the most common books about understanding death found on library shelves. It describes Freddie’s life on the tree and his natural death. Best read to the very young who need a parallel to death rather than a story about a person.

A picture book that serves as an excellent tool for discussing the death of a loved one to a child.

excellent life/death explanation for youth.

A book about understanding death, this book is about a leaf who doesn't want to "die" in the Autumn. The story of Freddie is tender, is one of trust and wisdom, and finally a story of great joy at the end of the book.

Lovely photos, not so sure about the accompanying story. I've been looking for some good kids books about death/grieving, and this isn't quite what I'm looking for.

Freddie the leaf grows to maturity on the branch of a tree, surrounded by his fellow leaves, and guided in wisdom by Daniel, the largest and oldest leaf of all. He experiences Spring, Summer and Fall, with all of their beauty and majesty. When Winter comes, and it is time for him to fall, to die,

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Freddie is frightened, and refuses to let go of his branch. Even Daniel's wise words cannot help him then, and eventually he is the last leaf on the tree, stubbornly clinging to life. But one day he does fall, seeing the splendor of his arboreal home for the first time, and going on (although he does not know it) to help create more life...

We had The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages in my childhood home, and I read it countless times as a girl, finding it terrifying, mysterious, beautiful, and ultimately reassuring. Although it is secular, and addresses the topic of death through an entirely natural lens, it has a spiritual feeling to it, and would be appropriate for people of many different beliefs, I feel. First published in 1982, it has become a minor classic, in the field of bibliotherapy for young people. It is illustrated with photographs of trees and leaves throughout the seasons - an illustrative style more popular in the 1970s and 80s, than it is today - and is fairly text-heavy, so I wouldn't recommend it for very young children. I couldn't say whether this was the perfect book to use explore the idea of death with specific children, but I do know that I found it very meaningful when I was a child myself, and recommend that adults seeking such titles take a look, and decide whether it suits the child reader/listener in their lives.

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