A beautifully written story about the loss of a loved one, The Happy Funeral tells the story of a family who lost their grandfather. It is told from the perspective of his granddaughter who looks back on memories throughout the story and shares the ways that her grandfather is honored after he passes away. I think this would be a lovely story to read to a child going through loss for them to understand that even though those of us left on Earth are sad, "when someone is very old and has lived a good life, he is happy to go." ( )

"The Happy Funeral" follows Laura, a young Chinese girl, and her family as they attend her grandfather's funeral. Chinese funeral traditions are highlighted in the book, like burning fake money and gifts so the deceased will have wealth in the afterlife. I think the book did a great job showing how children experience funerals. I found myself looking back at times I had to go to funerals- many of which were open-casket, like the one in the book- and my reactions at the time were very similar to Laura's. Laura, at first, refused to go up to her grandfather's casket to go and see him, as she was scared of what he would look like. But eventually, she went up and looked at him, noticing how he looked just like he did when he was alive, and that he even looked happy. Laura also kept thinking about her grandmother during the funeral; when she noticed that her grandmother was holding half a comb- the other half was in her grandfather's casket, and the comb would be unified once her grandmother met her grandfather in the after-life- she began thinking about her grandmother's mortality. When it was time for the funeral procession, Laura finally realized how this funeral was happy. The band playing music was upbeat and catchy, and Laura realized that this was all to honor her grandfather's life and all the things he did while he was alive. This was a bitter-sweet realization for her, and I feel as though every child has a realization similar to this when attending funerals. I think this book did a great job of showcasing an important part of Chinese culture, as well as introducing concepts of mortality and funerals to children. ( )

This book is about a family and how they deal with a death in the family. It is a Chinese cultured family and their tradition were quite fascinating to learn we I read this book. Laura's grandfather passed away and she is confused on why her family says to be happy and not cry. The book talks about the different traditions her family goes through to celebrate her grandfathers life. I know that when my grandfather passed away as much as I grieved and i still do, I try to celebrate his life everyday. ( )

Laura is a young Chinese-American girl learning how to handle the death of her grandfather. She helps her family as they go through the traditional funeral traditions. They set things in his casket, and draw pictures of nice things, such as cars or a big house, so he'll have them in the afterlife. As the story goes on, Laura struggles with trying to understand how a funeral can be a happy event. She watches family members cry and mourn the loss of her grandfather. In the end, she understands what her mother means by funerals being a happy time instead of sad. She realizes that "she never said it would be happy for us to have him go." Although it is hard for her to lose someone she loves, Laura feels better knowing her grandfather is at peace and happy in the spirit world. ( )

“The Happy Funeral,” is the story of a young girl named Laura experiencing/dealing with her grandfather’s funeral. At first, Laura’s mom tells her that when people are old and lived a long life, they are happy to go; therefore it will be a happy funeral. While Laura is experiencing the funeral she is conflicted with what her mother said about it being a “happy” funeral. Laura feels very sad when seeing all her family members come together to say goodbye to her grandpa; she also cries when she burns the gift she gave him so that he can have it in the afterlife. But when Laura sees her grandfather’s face lying in the casket she sees his face smile a bit, which finally made her realize what her mother meant. I think this book is very sweet because it not only shows us how to “cope” with the loss of a loved one, but it also shows us some Chinese culture and how they perform funeral services. I think this would be a good book to read to kids and explain to them that although we may not be happy letting our loved ones go, that they will be okay and we still have the memories to remember them by. This book would also be a good social studies lesson in learning about Chinese culture, the games they play, and the reasons for some of the things they do. ( )