Duck, Death and the Tulip

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I believe Barthelme was trying to emphasize the meaning of life when answering the children’s question by saying, “life is that which gives meaning to life. This is a book which would be a great stimulus for discussing these complex issues with children and may well be a comfort to them at a time of the loss of an older relative, for example.

German illustrator Wolf Erlbruch manages to infuse both the stench of death and the fragility of life into his simple, elegant drawings.Maria Nagy examined almost four hundred children between the ages of three and ten living in Budapest shortly before the Second World War. The axolotl is lonely, immobile, seemingly lacking life, inexpressive, and unable to communicate, all things we associate with death. The goal is to provide information and insights about the larger context of life as it is being lived in the later years. By turns moving, humorous and sad, this book offers readers of all ages a range of emotions and experiences. 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.

In trying to highlight perspectives on Death, Duck and the Tulip, I pulled an article from Bookbird 51/4 (2013) that discusses death in four international books — all considered outstanding globally. 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.Erlbruch was a professor at several universities, Fachhochschule Düsseldorf (1990-1997), University of Wuppertal (starting in 1997), and Folkwang University of the Arts (2009-2011).

And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait. As Death slips Duck’s lifeless body into ‘the great river’ at the end, the reader is filled with a deep sense of peace, as well as a rueful recognition of the truth of Death’s final thought: ‘But that’s life’– and perhaps what this story gets across particularly poignantly, but totally matter-of-factly, is that where there is life, death is inevitable. He uses escalation to emphasize the deaths of plants and herbs going all the way to the death of people. Duck befriends Death (a yellowed skull with a fixed smile) and, well, you can guess what eventually happens.Aunque tiene un mensaje muy poderoso; la muerte siempre esta ahí y debemos aceptarla, abrazarla y vivir con ella. You can use either the physical book to read the story or this animated version which uses artwork similar to the original book’s as well as music to provide a beautiful version of this lovely story. In “Dying,” Pinsky describes how people are oblivious and almost uncaring when it comes to the thought of death.