Jo Carson (1946–2011)

Jo Carson was a wonderful east Tennessee writer who recently passed away. This collection of poems was one I frequently shared with my students over the years. It's an excellent example of southern Appalachian literature and it lends itself well to reader's theatre.

This book is primarily about a young girl attending her first funeral, that of an elderly relative. To prepare her for the funeral she and her father discuss the services they have held for pets. The girl finds comfort with her father at the service acknowledging that [i]t was good to be held, and it was good to be holding too.

A little girl with her family travel to Tennessee, for her aunt's dad's funeral. She'd heard about death, because her sister's pet died before . She meet new people and see her grandpa and grandma are crying, she wants to her dad hold her and her feeling get better and she decide to hold her grandpa and grandma for making their feeling better.
Ages: 3-7 Source: Pierce College Library

The child equates the death of a hamster and the death of a great aunt. Ages 3-5. Pierce CC library.