What Happens Next?, by Shinsuke Yoshitake

Talking to kids about difficult topics is something some parents might fear or avoid. I know I do. But luckily I have a parenting partner who is really good at it and seems to have no fear. So those tricky topics still get talked about.

When we do have ‘those’ conversations I realise afterward that there was nothing to fear. The kids might not have understood everything, but they were open to all we were trying to tell them. Kids are sponges, they are designed to learn and accept new ideas. I’m starting to see that they expect us to tell them new things they haven’t heard about or understood before, because up to that point in their life, that has been happening on a daily basis.

One topic that might be considered difficult is death and how we might prepare kids for this. It is a normal and important part of life, so discussing it cannot be put off forever. Sooner or later death will visit every family.

All this preambling (a new word I just created is to describe when your preamble turns into rambling, #explanabrag) is to introduce a beautiful, light, honest, amusing book that explores the topic of death. It’s called What Happens Next? by the fabulous Japanese author/illustrator, Shinsuke Yoshitake.

The book is narrated by a child who has just experienced the death of his grandfather and has found a notebook containing the grandfather’s hypothetical thoughts on the afterlife. The grandfather has mapped out a plan for the stages and life, the things that one requires for the afterlife and discussion topics for when he meets the gods. There is also a depiction of what heaven and hell probably look like as well as ways to watch over and remember people still on Earth.

The book then continues with the thoughts and feelings the child has about reading such a subliminally confronting notebook. He wonders about whether Grandpa would have been excited or scared of dying. He talks to his Dad and finally comes to a very profound conclusion (which I won’t give away).

Shinsuke Yoshitake has created a masterfully written, designed, illustrated, and presented children’s picture book. The illustrations are very clean and crisp. The pictures might seem simple to look at, yet there is so much purpose and value within each image. Children (from about 3 years and up) will be captivated.