Each Little Bird That Sings

I didn't expect to like this book - it reminded me of Three Times Lucky with it's heavy-handed quirkiness and gee whiz style. Then Deborah Wiles worked her magic, (read Countdown by her if you haven't already!) and the characters and their messy lives came alive and I was pulled in. I still found the character's names distracting, but I loved the stories of their ups and downs with each other.

Book on CD performed by Kim Mai Guest

From the book cover Comfort Snowberger is an Explorer, a Recipe Tester, and a Funeral Reporter. Writing about dead people might seem like a strange hobby for a ten-year-old, but Comfort grew up in a funeral home, so she knows how to deal with death.
Or at least she thinks she does until Great-great-aunt Florentine drops dead – just like that – and everything starts going wrong. Suddenly Comfort’s sniveling, whiny cousin Peach won’t leave her alone. And her best friend, Declaration, whom she could always count on before, has turned downright mean. So now, even if it means missing the most important funeral of her life, all Comfort really wants to do is sit in her closet with her dog, Dismay, show more and hide.
But then something happens that makes Comfort realize how strong she really is … all on her own.


My reactions
This is a lovely Southern coming-of-age story that deals frankly but gently with the realities of death, in a manner that children can easily understand. I loved Comfort and how genuinely compassionate she was, even when exasperated beyond endurance by her eight-year-old cousin’s “ruining everything.” She is obviously loved by an extended family, and cherishes her particular role in the family’s funeral business. She’s imaginative and self-confident, but not immune to the hurts of childhood or feeling selfish. She’s a wonderful character. Her indomitable spirit will endear her to readers.

Fair warning … while this is a generally happy, hopeful book, you will need some tissues. ‘Nuff said.

Kim Mai Guest does a fine job of reading the audiobook version. She really brought the book to life with her performance. She has a perfect “whiny” Peach voice that just made me laugh, and made me as exasperated with him as Comfort obviously was. And her gentle Mama’s voice was the perfect balm during those sections that were more stressful. show less

Death is a way of life for the Snowberger family, since they run a funeral parlor out of their Mississippi home with the motto "We live to serve." Still, when 94-year-old Great-great-aunt Florentine Snowberger dies in the vegetable garden, no one can truly be prepared, even though she'd been bidding "good night and good-bye" to the family every night since she turned 90. Florentine's death is hard on 10-year-old Comfort, since the two were so close, even co-writing the Fantastic (and Fun) Funeral Food for Family and Friends. It's no surprise, then, when the annoyingly overwrought emotional displays of her young cousin Peach Shuggars and the sudden iciness of her alleged best friend Declaration Johnson send Comfort over the edge. Thank show more goodness for her shaggy "feel-good" dog Dismay who can eradicate all bad feelings with a single slobbery lick.
When a dangerous flash flood comes to Snapfinger on the day of Florentine's funeral, Comfort learns again that life is full of surprises, good and bad, and that, ultimately, it's just good to be alive. This warm, witty novel, told in Comfort's voice (and a mix of letters, recipes, articles, and helpful hints), celebrates the joys of family, of prune bread, of freshly sharpened pencils, and of "each little bird that sings." show less

Oh how I love this tale! Told from the perspective of ten year old Comfort Snowberger whose family owns the small town funeral home, this is such a delightful book that each page is filled with humor, poignancy and wisdom.

No stranger to the grief of others, Comfort witnessed 247 funerals. When funeral #248 is that of her beloved Great, Great Aunt Florence, quickly followed by funeral #248 of loving, kind Uncle Edisto, Comfort realizes that "Life is full of surprises, not all of them good."

When her childhood friend betrays her and her cousin Peach gets on her every last nerve, she has her wonderful dog Dismay to get her through.

spoiler --- When Dismay tragically is lost, Comfort's grief is severe. Realizing that we grieve in equal show more measure to the love we received and give, Comfort incredibly shines through.

This is a book of hope, of sunshine through the rain, of images that melt your heart and then make you laugh right out loud.

With characters named Tidings, Comfort, Dismay, Baby Merry, Declaration and Peach, the creativity leaps from the pages.

Highly Recommended! show less

This is a five star book, no question. But it is one of the saddest books I have ever read. I don't think my eyes were free of tears for the last 100 pages of the book.

Comfort Snowberger (most of the characters have exceptionally odd names) is the 10 year old daughter in a family owned funeral home. Like the TV series Six Feet Under, the family lives upstairs, and the funeral home business is downstairs. Unlike Six Feet Under, this is the very opposite of a dysfunctional family. Mother, father, and three children, along with a great-great aunt and uncle, all live in harmony and love together (as long as little cousin Peach doesn't come to visit.)

But then death comes calling. And it's different when it's members of Comfort's own family, show more than when it is other people in the community. Comfort's best friend, Declaration has spontaneously decided to be mean to Comfort, and a few months after her great-great uncle's death, her great-great aunt follows.

And that's just the beginning. To say much more would give away too much.

I highly recommend the book, but if, like me, you are prone to tears - read it alone in a private place. And if you don't like sad books, do not walk, RUN away from this one! show less

This book contained an interesting mixture of comedy, sadness, loss, and hope. The characters' names are unique and quirky like their characterizations (ie: Comfort, Bunch, Joy, Tidings, Peach, Declaration, and Dismay.) Comfort is a ten-year-old girl to whom funerals are a way of life. Her hobbies include writing life notices (obituaries) and a funeral recipe cookbook, and making up her own homework assignments. What I love about her is that she is a writer at heart and she spends time in her room writing letters and books, journaling, and crafting creative life notices for the paper. Part of the story is told through her own expressive writing. I know this would have been inspiring for me when I was 10-12 years old and liked to write. show more

The loss in this story is poignant, but tempered by facts about funerals, humorous events, and a surprise change of character for Peach.

I would recommend this book for students who are interested in writing, or who have not recently lost someone close to them. I'm sure it would be much harder for someone who had experienced a recent loss to read this book. show less

I really, really liked this book. I read this book when I was a younger and returned to it for this assignment. I liked this book for many reasons. But I will just share two. This book had extra textual features that really helped readers understand and empathize with the main narrator (the main character). For example, the main character (Comfort) wrote obituaries for her town’s newspaper and sent them to the publisher to be published in the newspaper. The author included these typed up statements that Comfort wrote herself. Another textual feature that was included in this story was the letters Comfort wrote to her best friend. Seeing and reading these letters made the readers see exactly what Comfort was writing to her best friend show more along with the feelings she had before she wrote the letters. Another reason I liked this book was because of the point of view. If the point of view had been in third person, the story wouldn’t have come alive like it did for me when I read it. Hearing Comfort’s thoughts and feelings make readers place themselves into her shoes and empathize with how she was feeling during all the deaths that surrounded her. For example, Comfort was able to keep her composure during the actual viewings and funerals of the dead, but behind the scenes readers were able to see how she actually felt about the life she was living above a funeral home. The main purpose of this story was to explain how even young children can be strong and live life without the ones they love. show less