A Touching Book About Loss

An Ordinary Day
Written by Elana K. Arnold & Illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic
Age Level: 2-6 Years
Published March 10, 2020

I will never forget you.

People are born every day, and people die every day. Help children understand and process loss with this gentle and beautiful story that illustrates birth and death happening in parallel.

On an ordinary day, on an ordinary street, life is going on as usual. But this is a life changing day for two families on the block, one of which is saying goodbye to a beloved pet and another that is welcoming a new baby into the family. At the same moment, doctors arrive at the houses to help the families. Within both homes, music plays softly and soothingly. Around both patients, the ailing pet and the laboring mother, loved ones gather to comfort and support. When the time is right, the dog passes on and the baby is born. This book handles birth and death so delicately and respectfully. You will mourn with one family and quietly celebrate with the other in perfect balance.

“It was an ordinary day in the neighborhood. It was an extraordinary day in the neighborhood. Like all days, and all neighborhoods, everywhere.”

Meanwhile outside in the neighborhood, the day progresses as usual, illustrating that these life changing moments usually happen privately while the rest of the world continues uninterrupted. That can be comforting for some, and excruciating for others, but that ongoing rhythm of life in the face of extraordinary personal events is nonetheless the reality.