Bug in a Vacuum

Melanie Watt has always done a great job combining a great children's story with an underlying life lessons.

In the Scaredy Squirrel series, she introduces the struggle and rewards of going outside your comfort zone. Her other books tackle feelings of frustration while waiting or being different all the while, wrapping it in the veneer of a funny picture book.

This book has fantastic, humorous pictures to go with the story of a fly that inadvertently gets sucked into a vacuum. In silly ways, the fly goes through the five stages of grief (as described by famed and beloved psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross . Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

Parents can keep it simple for the little ones, or engage older children in discussion about the feelings we often go through when something bad happens to us. There are also a lot of "phrases" that can be taught to children. "On top of the world", "wouldn't hurt a fly", etc.

Each "stage" or "feeling" as I translated to my young kiddos, was prefaced by a funny product that was named the same as the stage.

I applaud the author for successfully marrying a fun children's picture books with disguised opportunity to teach about some of life's deeper lessons.

Thank you Random House of Canada Limited/Tundra Books and Netgalley for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

A bug who gets sucked into a vacuum goes through the five stages of grief (the Kübler-Ross model)? Oh man! It was cute, funny, and sad at the same time. And it made me rethink sucking up spiders with my vacuum.

Lovely book about loss from the perspective of a bug and a dog, each dealing with process of grieving. The illustrations are captivating and humorous.