Death as a natural aspect of the cycle of life is the theme of this gently written classic: The Fall of Freddie The Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages by Leo Buscaglia (SLACK Inc., 1982).
Freddie, a maple leaf, enters the world in the spring and comes to understand the phases of life as expressed through the passing seasons.
The changes in leaves help illustrate the different and unique phases of life that ultimately lead toward death. Freddie grows until he is the last leaf on the branch — and as he lets go, he experiences a sense of peace.
Although leaves appear and disappear each year, Buscaglia highlights that the tree lives on (though even it, too, has a finite life) as he weaves into the story the interconnectedness of life and death.
© 2016 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers