Shoebox Funeral

I did not think I was going to like this book. I went into it with very low expectations and thankfully, those expectations were greatly surpassed.

This is a book about death, as the title would imply. Actually, the copy I read has a different title. It seems this book has various titles. The one I read was Shoebox Funeral: Stories from Wolf Creek. The one that appears on Goodreads is Grave Tales: Stories from Wolf Creek. But it’s also just called The Little Book of Death. It doesn’t matter. They are all the same book, a thing I wish I had known from the very start.


Anyway, back to the book. It’s about death. It is a collection of true stories about a young girl who is one of ten siblings living on a farm in Pennsylvania, as she loves and cares for dying animals. When reading the synopsis, this book did not stand out to me. I have never been on a farm and the idea of death frightens me more than anything else in the world. Now, I am glad I gave this book a chance.

The book is beautifully written, as well as beautifully illustrated. There is something about the simplicity of the writing that I found charming. The way that Voltz speaks of each creature she cared for as if each was it’s own person, important and loved.

Th book is sad, it deals with the tragedies of life and the knowledge that death is inescapable. It also has a lot of hope, the desire to against all odds try to do something good, to try and save the unsavable.

I only wish there were more of the story, as the book is only 140 pages.

Shoebox Funeral: Stories from Wolf Creek is a memoir full of authentic short stories, each accompanied by a tiny beautiful illustration, taken out of author's childhood spent on a farm. It presents the cruelty of nature in the most genuine way possible - through the death of much-loved animals.

I don't really know why I pick this book. It doesn't seem like something I would enjoy as a deep-rooted vegetarian who has spent her whole life living in a city, barely seeing farms even on pictures and until now deliberately avoided anything that could involve an animal dying. Well, it seems like I have grown out of this oversensitivity to animals and I have to say that I did truly enjoy and appreciate every aspect of Shoebox Funeral.

There's a certain beauty in the way Elizabeth Voltz tells her stories. The writhing is simple but the love she felt for every animal under her care is more than obvious through her words. She talks about every kitten and duckling as if they mattered, which, to her, they did.

Shoebox Funeral shows the reader a life on a farm in its truest form, how it feels to be one of 10 children, what it is like to be surrounded by so many animals and to know that they are not going to last very long and how heartbreaking it is to learn that some of them are going to die under your care no matter how hard you try or how gentle and loving you are because that's the way of nature.

4 heart-aching stars.

I loved this unique book, tried to review but it wouldn't let me

This is a book of short stories. Written and lived by Elizabeth Voltz. Beth grew up on a farm as 1 of 10 kids in Grove City Pennsylvania. People in town would bring animals to the farm a lot not just unwanted ones but also dying one. The family tended these animals until they either made the sick ones better or they died.

This was a very hard book for me to get through, thankfully I had a new box of tissue. While and after reading this book I cuddled with my 2 ten year old dogs a lot and also had a few dreams. I probably should of put the book down and moved on. My heart was a little to tender for this book. But I am glad I read it.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

What an absolutely sweet and grounding book this is. I expected something like one of the Herriot's books, but no, this is down to earth and very humbling - it took me by surprise and I just couldn't stop reading it (till 3.00am).
The little illustrations where just beautiful and just right; and the stories are told in a very matter of fact way, but you can't miss the love and care with which Elizabeth tries to make life so much better for the animals that find their way to her farm.
This is a story of a remarkable family doing remarkable things, and a stories told by remarkable young girl, who even with her own problems, was able to look after, love and lose so many creatures that would never have experience any without her and her family.
Yes there where tears, but not so much for the story, but for all the missed opportunities that we humans have passed up in our lives.

There are so many things to say about this book but I just don't know how to put it into words that will justify how amazing this book is! For some reason I didn't think I was going to like this book, but I was so wrong. I loved it!

Shoebox Funeral isn't the most fast-paced book I've ever read. However I don't believe it needed to be fast paced. I liked the fact that when I read it I appreciated everything that was being said throughout the book and I wasn't reading so fast that I couldn't take some parts in properly. I was fascinated every time I picked up this book.

I really connected with the characters throughout this book. I felt for the animals, for Voltz and for her family. Growing up in a small-town with many farms nearby made me appreciate what she had to say, and how she felt throughout situations.

I'm so glad that I took the time to appreciate everything Voltz had to say in Shoebox Funeral - I highly recommend this.

Full of bittersweet and endearing tales, 'Shoebox Funeral' delivers touching eulogies to the small farm animals that have enriched the lives of the Voltz family. Elisabeth Voltz's heart-warming and tear-jerking memoirs of the slew of pets that her and her family have raised, rescued, repaired and rejuvenated, are sure to tug at your hearts strings, as she also details the nature and life of her parents and siblings. My favorite account dealt with a blind-cat, Monet, wanting very much to be a mother and the struggles she went through. Voltz writing brings you awfully close to the essence and identity of her pets and family, lamenting and celebrating life in all shapes and sizes.

Now you've gone and made me homesick for my childhood! I grew up in a small town in the hills of Tennessee with all kinds of critters and this book took me back there. Especially the box of baby possums someone gave me that my parents quickly made disappear. Thanks for the pleasant memories.

Elizabeth Voltz grew up on a farm in Wolf Creek. She is one of ten kids. She is the second youngest. She often made her own fun by playing with the animals on the farm, particularly the cats. However, this also meant she had to bury her beloved friends starting from a young age. This memoir tells of her experiences with these animals.

I could relate to a lot of what she talked about in regards to the cats. She distinguished between the house cats and the barn cats. At my house, we feed a lot of stray cats. I like to play with some of the kittens and they all have names. I understood the emotional attachment she had with them, even when they weren't really her pets. Often this attachment leads to heartbreak when they get sick or injured beyond recovery.

This is a well written book. I enjoyed a lot of it, but the heartbreaking stories of having to bury pets was too much for me. I've had to do that before and it dredged up too many unhappy memories. This is a good book, but too emotional for me.

This review will be posted on my blog on May 21, 2017.

Beth's love for animals captured my heart. I read this story in one sitting and it had be feeling warm and fuzzy,to my heart aching for the loss of her friends. Beautiful.

Elizabeth Sholtz grew up on a farm with nine other siblings. Shoebox funeral is a unique collection of short memoirs that revolve around the deaths of much beloved pets on her family farm.

I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I thought it was a unique way to present memoirs, as I feel pets and the animals we grow up with can often say a lot about the people they belong to. The illustrations that are scattered throughout are beautiful too. The memoirs themselves are also very well written. However, after a while I did start to get bogged down in all these animals deaths. It wasn't a light read, and some of the tales were interesting enough to keep me entertained.

What a sweet, heartfelt book. I loved the stories about Elisabeth's life on her families farm and the different animals that appeared there. She would fall in love with them and even as a child, feel responsible for taking care of them and tried making their lives better. The drawings that appear in each chapter are adorable. By the end of the book I felt like I knew Elisabeth personally because of her relatable writing style.

Before diving into the review, I would like to applaud the author for how clever the title is. I really think that it is clever and I somehow felt that I'm very stupid because it took me half of this book to realize why it is called "Shoebox Funeral".

It is always fun to read short stories focusing on a certain topic - which in this case is animals - so you can see how different perspective on a specific topic. It is fun and light but it would also gives you the difference between today's generation and the past generations. Not only that, you'll get to understand how people value the animals in their lives and how it became not just a part of it but as a very special part of it.

Being an animal lover and a pet owner, I can relate to the voices in the stories compiled in this book. Their love for their pets and the way they cared for them even though their life span is shorter than ours touched me.

SPOILER.
What I really like most, and probably my favorite out of all the stories in this book, is the one about those people living in a farm and how they only have enough to feed the animals that are useful to them and they are not allowed to have pets and yet, they hid it from their parents and when their parents saw how responsible they are with regards to taking good care of their pets, they finally let them keep it. It's something that I would always remember.

This book is beautifully written. It is full of short stories about a girl in a large family on big ol farm in Pennsylvania. It is also about her love of cats and kittens, and the many animals that came and went on the farm. Most of the stories are sad, but have beautiful illustrations. But overall I really enjoyed reading this book.
I received an ARC copy of this book from #NetGalley and I am leaving a voluntary, honest review.

This book was very good! I really enjoyed reading this book! The writing was very good, I like how the characters were written.

This is a beautifully written book which will be much appreciated by anyone who loves animals. I didn't grow up on a farm, but I feel now like I've been there because of the tender descriptive writing of the author. Before I read this, I didn't know anything about farm life, although I have a far-reaching love animals of all kinds. I had no idea that people would just drive by a farm and drop off unwanted or dying animals, and my heart ached through the stories of that kind. It is well worth the read, however. I feel more connected to my passion for animals now, and have received a wider world view as well.

Why did it take me so long to finish this... default of this being on my kindle... I forgot it was there. I picked it back up today and remembered why I loved it so much.

This book is about Beth and growing up on a farm as one of the youngest of 12 kids... her love of animals and her loss at losing them. It was the most unique memoir I’ve ever read. Her story is told through her animals. It was beautiful and funny and sad all at the same time. I would love to see a finished copy of this book. Because my kindle just can’t do the pictures justice.

Break out the tissues! I'm a big animal lover and this book really hit me hard. It's not often that I get the book feels in public but when an animal was hurt or died I just started to bawl! Some of these stories are sweet, some bittersweet, and some of these will rip your heart out and stomp all over it. There were gorgeous illustrations at the beginning of each chapter which I absolutely adored and it was a sweet homage to the animals in the book. From what I've seen on youtube the book is clothbound and a really beautiful green and it looks like it'd be nice on a coffee table.
If you want to cry and laugh and have your heart ripped out then you need this book!
Rating: 5 Stars!

I very much enjoyed this book. I'm always drawn to books about animals and this one doesn't disappoint. Some of the stories were humorous and some were sad but they all felt authentic. My only critique might be there was a sense of repetition after a while. Still, it was a pleasure to read.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It says Teen & YA so I was hoping for more life in this memoir. I know we can't always spice up real life but it didn't feel as if had much movement. The illustrations and everything about it is adorable but it isn't meant for me.

Dark and nostalgic. The stories are so well written and illustrated. Voltz really draws readers into the events, allowing them to sense the grief and emotions felt. This book portrays the sorrow of tragedy, and how death is inevitable.

I thought this was really good. I don’t normally read non fiction or autobiography but I really enjoyed the mini stories, and how each animal, and each story, affected us, just as much as the family.

Shoebox Funeral: Stories from Wolf Creek is a memoir full of authentic short stories, with a beautiful illustration for each, based on the author’s experiences growing up on a farm in Western PA. It tells the tale of love and death of beloved animals.

Not your thing? Don’t want to read about death of animals? It’s a story of love, ultimately. I don't really know why I picked this book, except for my own roots to western Pa. I too, grew up on a farm and know the cycle of life as a farm kid. What an absolutely beautifully written book this is. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened the book, but I am glad I read it. The stories are told in a very matter of fact way, as a person living on a farm would view animals, but you can't help but feel the love and care with which the author has for the animals. I have to say that I did truly enjoy and appreciate Shoebox Funeral.

The writhing is simple but the love felt for each animal shines through in her words. Each duck, kitten and all the others mattered. You will grow from this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for a pre-publication ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet, touching and heartbreaking. As an animal lover, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book. Happily, even though my heart was breaking and I cried my way through the book, I found myself loving each story and feeling a kinship to the author. While I never lived on a farm, I have had to bury my share of pets over the years. It was a very sweet book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Poignant, heartbreaking and very beautiful!

Grateful to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my true opinions.

#ShoeboxFuneral #NetGalley

This book was really quite sweet. The illustrations sprinkled throughout are really nicely drawn and really adorable.

Writing:
I really liked the writing style. It was descriptive enough that it felt immersive, but it wasn't overly detailed and boring. I like the big family feel (I relate), and I like the chance to see a different view of things. The writing allows the reader to really connect with the story of Elizabeth's life and her family, and shows the passion and love really upfront.

Story:
I will admit, I'm not big on non-fiction. However, I enjoyed Voltz stories of kittens and farm life, and it is truly endearing. Also the idea of a shoebox funeral is just really really sweet to me, and I liked seeing the family's compassionate view of animals most people wouln't think twice about.

Cover:
Look at it. It is beautiful. I love it.

Overall, I liked the story, and the atmosphere, and the animals because who doesn't love animals being loved. The photos at the end were a really unique and welcome addition, and I think overall the book was really captivating and interesting, while still being fun.

Absolutely loved the cover and it's what got me hooked at first.
Great illustrations
Liked the writing style and familiar feeling to it.
I am definitely not a huge fan of non fiction but I enjoyed this one

I was drawn to this book by it's cover and then it's blurb. I an always intrigued by stories that allow characters to walk in and out of paintings and interact with each other. I have read a few books with this premise. This story didn't disappoint. It's a good read for kids and teaches forgiveness without being preachy. I think kids and teens will find it a satisfying tale.

I don't usually read nonfiction books but the cover drew me in. I was going to pass this up but decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did. It was written really well and although it wasn't my all time favorite it did leave me with some kind of impact. I say 4 stars which is generous. I recommend this for people who want to read a nicely written nonfiction book with a gorgeous cover

Although this book isn’t something I’d typically read I found it enjoyable. I love animals and I thought the stories in this book were heartwarming, The cover is what drew me to this book in the first place but the writing is what kept me reading. The prose was stunning and the author allowed me to really feel what was going on in the stories.

Sad, and yet somehow hopeful, but always charming. Although the author is now an adult, her narrative never loses a sort of childlike innocence. Children so often are forced to grow up too soon in a farmer’s lifestyle where they must often bid goodbyes to beloved ducks, chickens, pigs, etc.. and also accept that death is an ever present Spector in their lives. They are encouraged to think of dogs and cats as tools rather that family members, and yet, a child’s heart, no matter how often it’s broken, can still love these tiny lives unconditionally. I was transported back to my own childhood, the loss of so many well loved dogs and cats, by this sweet and sorrowful narrative, a journey both of grief and great fondness. Any animal lover may feel pain from the accounts of mixed wild, farm, and pet animals meeting their end, and the after effects, but also find solace and comfort in commiserations with the author.

This memoir focuses on the author's tales of her various pets whilst growing up on a farm.
Most of the pets end up dying and being buried in the pet cemetery, but this is hardly the author's fault - many of the pets were dumped on their farm because of sickness or other disabilities and she took pity on them in their last days
It's perhaps a bit too depressing for young children, but children from a similar background would relate better - living closer to life and death on a farm.
I enjoyed her relation of tales from her youth interspersed with the insights and wisdom of the adult self.
Many of these tales are just so heartwarming and bring up a tear or too.
What I like about this book is that it is a collection of tales - not all of them follow on each other and don't rely on you having previous knowledge, although it obviously is advised to read the book in the order it is written in.
But its more than a memoir of departed pets. It's also a glimpse into her family as throughout she reveals bits about them - her dad's beliefs and allergies, the death of Peter and the effect it had on especially her mom; her mom' gentle soul; the challenges she faced health-wise; the financial situations of her family while growing up and the close bond the family has.
A lovely addition at the end of the photographs of the farm; the author as a child; her family and of course various pets. The inclusion of photographs always makes a memoir feel more "human".
The book leaves you with a good feeling. The good and kindness they showed to the animals - taking in and caring for dumped animals - was rewarded by others being good and kindhearted to them - financing her surgery.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.

A beautiful heartfelt collection of short stories on the author's beloved past pets. This is a book that I plan to buy and give as gifts to animal lovers.

Thank you thank you thank to NetGalley and for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest read and review!  I love receiving so many different genres of books to read and review, so when I saw a collection of stories based on real-life occurrences up for request, I jumped on it!  Not to mention, the title of this book is kinda morbid but really interesting, so that definitely had a draw on me.

The little map at the beginning of this book is so darling.  I love the whimsy and almost personal feel of it.  This continues throughout as the art at the beginning of each chapter is so darn cute!  I loved that each one is specifically about the chapter or story it precedes; my favorite was the opossum.  The story was not that happy, but the little illustration cracked me up!

The language is so vivid and colorful.  At times, it reads like a children's book because the settings and environments are described in such a way that everything is vivid and crisp without being too flowery.  Of course, this isn't a children's book as you figure out as you keep going, but I really appreciated the feel of this book and the sort of "release" it gave me as I read it.  It feels like Voltz truly understands writing with adjectives and using all the senses to invoke feelings within the readers; this reflects so well all throughout this book.

As for the stories, holy mackerel!  I grew up in the country and saw some crazy stuff when it comes to nature and making do, but nothing can be compared with some of Voltz' stories in this collection.  The story about the raccoons and the hollow rabbit still haunts me; I can't imagine what that would have been like!  I loved that each of the stories used in this book is vivid and sometimes almost unbelievable.  But, tucked into each one is a kernel of wisdom that can only come from life experience.  

Overall, this book really got to me.  I think that I could recognize a bit of the young girl who loved animals and had way too many cats and kittens and inventive ways to play.  I loved reading this book because it made me think about my childhood and invoked so many good and bad memories about my own years growing up and the pets I had and cherished.  I love how Voltz writes about some ugly things and some beautiful things all in a poetic way.  At the end of the book, there is a section of photographs from her childhood and you get to see some of the cats, Precious the blue jay, and some of the animals discussed in the book including her beloved dog Buddelia.  This, combined with the touching last chapter about peace and accepting all that had happened in her life, make for a perfect end to this book.  I loved it so much and how much heart Voltz put into not just her stories, but in the final presentation for the readers.  I loved this little end to the book and the stories in between.

Overall, I would give this one so many stars more than five.  The subjects are not always happy and bright, but the messages behind each little story are so special.  I think that I came away from this book with some crazy imagery, appreciation for my own childhood, and a fond group of memories of the animals that I loved and continue to love today.  Along with the contents of the book, the actual style and look of the book is perfect and I appreciated that it included a little "journal" section at the end.  I could see myself writing my own memories that come back to me, as I read this.

Received via NetGalley for review.

A collection of surprisingly sweet and beautiful short stories/personal essays about the beauty and the love of animals in all stages in life. Death is a fundamental part of life, and most people experience it through the death of a pet. That doesn't make it any less devastating.

The illustrations accompanying the stories were perfect and well suited to the book.

Perfect for middle schoolers who might be going through this for the first time, or who have experienced it many times.

Shoebox Funerals is a collection of tales about all the pets the author had while living in her farm as a kid.


Most of the stories were adorable, and since I'm such an animal lover, I LOVED reading these stories. Though there were some stories that made me cry, most of them left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling.


I loved the illustrations as well as the pictures at the end of the book. They personalized the book even more. I wish I had had a childhood like Elizabeth Voltz did!


All in all, I'm so so happy I got to read this book.

I have five animals of my own at home and I adopted all of five of them! The short stories of the animals rescued and taken care of until their death broke my heart each time. The compassion displayed for animals in this book is so sweet! I recommend this book to anyone who loves animals and taking care of them when they need it most!

This was adorable! I love short stories & this collection made me laugh & tear up and it was just full of enjoyment for me! Beth does such a good job at describing her childhood stories & Idil illustrates them beautiful (honestly all the drawings were so cute!)
Definitely a great read & would even be good for reading with a child (not too young though as it has animals dying in it)

Memoirs are not always an easy read and that being said, this one was really difficult as it has lots of animal deaths. I hate when there are animal deaths but since it's a memoir we can't do anything about it. So proceed with caution. This was a memoir of Elizabeth Sholtz about growing up on a farm with nine other siblings and revolve around the deaths of much beloved pets on her family farm.

The writing was good and the illustrations were adorable. The stories were touching too and as I said earlier, not light to read. I started getting bored with all the animal deaths as the story progressed. I expected to get more from the story but overall it was a pleasant read.