“What’s wrong, hon?” my husband asks, glancing over at my somber face.
“She died,” is all I can say.
“Who died?”
“An author I love.”
“Aww. . . who was it?”
“Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I have most of her books. She was an amazing human being.”
“How’d she die?”
“Cancer.”
“How old was she?”
“51.”
“Oh my. . . you’re 51.”
“Yes, I’m 51.”
I’ve been reading Amy’s books to my 3rd graders over the last few days after I told them she was dying of cancer. They love every one of them. Spoon. Exclamation Point. Little Pea. The OK Book. Cookies: Bite Sized Life Lessons and so on. They recognized how her messages are similar. We all have special gifts and we need to use them. We need to discover what our gifts are. It’s okay to be different. We are all OK.
Tomorrow I have to tell them that she passed away. And, I’m sure I will shed a few tears. They’ve seen me do this frequently so it won’t be a shock to them. Usually it’s when I’m reading a book to them. Or just words.
Like it will be tomorrow.
(The words above are from the last page of Amy’s book Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal: Not Exactly a Memior.)
Shari 😦
Islands of My Soul 
God bless her and her family. She will always be treasured through her works. Mourning.
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I’m so sorry to hear of the passing of this wonderful author. She will live on, however, in her published words. My sympathies!
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This post pulled a memory from my student teaching days. I read ‘The OK Book’ to my 2nd graders and they took it to heart. It’s such a special little memory for me. I’m so sorry to hear of her passing. This author was such a gem in the literary world.
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I hadn’t heard this! I love her writing. The first thing I read by her was her Encyclopedia of Me and I fell in love with her wit and joy. Too young. What about her family? Her kids? Sad.
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Sharing this with your kids will be emotional but necessary. So sad. All of it.
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I felt this one too. I really can’t think of any other PB author whose works do what hers do–that blend of humor with a big important message, all treated with that light touch she had. How did your students do with the news? So glad you’ve been sharing her books with them.
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