Duck, Death and the Tulip

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Cuter as a child-narrated video, but the message is worthy enough to justify this less-evanescent medium. Kim Hill’s ‘favourite book of all time’ is certainly a very special surprise and a welcome foray into taboo territories explored by people like Heinrich Hoffmann, Maurice Sendak, Edward Gorey, Mervyn Peake, Kafka…What should, in theory, be ghoulish, damaging, nightmare material is actually soft, friendly, funny – and a little sad.

BILL: I agree with your feeling that Death probably has had little to no interaction with others and is in fact “othered” by society. His gradual exhumation of death eases the audience into pondering the subject in the absence of emotional stress. BILL: Duck, Death and the Tulip is an intriguing story by author and illustrator Wolf Erlbruch that introduces us to all three title characters as the story opens. I’ve also used the book in philosophy sessions with fourth and fifth grade students, and it’s led to some thoughtful exchanges about life and death, what it means to be mortal, and whether anything ever really dies.In the jury citation he was described as `one of the great innovators and experimenters of contemporary children’s book illustration. It is nice that Duck allows Death to share in the joys of his life and yet I go back to a point I made, that Death mentions that he is always there, for all of us, just in case. In the end, the duck indeed dies, and Death carries her to a river, placing the duck gently in the water and laying the tulip on her: "For a long time he watched her. The Appalachian short story, “Jake Pond”, portrays this inevitable cycle through the depiction of a young boy enjoying nature.

Written and illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch, a German author, (and beautifully translated by Catherine Chidgey), the book's simple text and sparse, elegant illustrations combine to create a moving yet unsentimental treatise on death. In light of the recent 2017 recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, German author/illustrator Wolf Erlbruch, we read Duck, Death and the Tulip (2011) as well as other books by Erlbruch and some scholarly perspectives. The picture book offers all types of readers the opportunity to learn about death in a unique and accessible way whilst presenting death in the form of a character carrying a black tulip which begins to naturally die along with the Duck, as the story progresses. I asked him what he would do if he could choose to live forever at a certain age and stay that age always.

In chapter twelve there is a study done by Maria Nagy in the nineteen thirties which suggests three major stages in the development of death related concepts in childhood. The story is a simple one of the Duck and Death sharing experiences together like swimming and climbing trees, though the whole time the Duck seems slightly concerned about what happens when he does indeed die. In the book, Erlbuch’s use of language alongside the simplistic pictures effectively depicts duck and death sharing conversations about duck’s impending death and death answering questions about Duck’s ideas on the afterlife whilst having fun together. German illustrator Wolf Erlbruch manages to infuse both the stench of death and the fragility of life into his simple, elegant drawings.

The gold standard of picture books about death is Duck, Death and the Tulip…It’s hard to describe how this extraordinarily tender book manages to be both heartbreaking and comforting, but it does. So, not really a bedtime story for the very young – you’ll get far too many questions of an existential nature that you can’t hope to answer. With a truly Germanic take on life and its ending, we walk with Duck through her last days as, accompanied by Death, she finally breathes her last breath and is laid by her companion on the river that takes her away forever. Though this telling is more melancholy and visually darker than the book‘s almost-playful approach, it continues to be an illustration of death as a part of life. Both poems, “Death of a Young Son by Drowning” by Margaret Atwood and “Because I could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson share a common subject of death.So they wander down to Duck’s pond and they play a little until Death finds the damp too much and they lie down together so Duck can warm Death up and the friendship grows between them and they discuss all the aspects of dying until one day at the end of summer Duck begins to feel cold and asks Death to warm her. We see Duck start out on her life, meeting and befriending Death on the way, sharing a cup of tea, going swimming, climbing a tree. The lighting, operated by Jason Longstaff and created by Nigel Percy, is a further element in making the play work so effectively.

I have wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the wisdom you offer in The Caregiving Zone… I high-fived your affirmation that the last months and weeks of a person’s life offer opportunities for all involved to grow as caring, loving human beings. Erlbruch gives the impression that he is an artist incapable of sentimentality, but his drawings have a delicacy and a sweet humour that helps us cope with the immensity of the subject. Personified as a miniature Grim Reaper, complete with long robe and grinning skull, Death initially frightens Duck, who wonders if Death has come to “fetch” her. The direct speech of the Sister is reported without the use of quotation marks as in, “When she died she was folding a little towel. Parents who choose to discuss death with their young children may feel this odd import is an excellent discussion starter (if they don't find it peculiar and macabre).However, the calm, caring demeanor in which Death treats the Duck both in life and finally in Death makes the character more realistic than frightening.