If you like the sound of this book, make sure to buy it from the All Around Publishing Shop. Vibrant and bursting with colour, adding a playful joy to an important subject matter. The illustrations both on the front cover and inside the book are stunning. Sometimes, as tough as it may seem, children might have a better understanding if you speak to them in a matter of fact way. Also, one of my favourite parts of Where is Uncle Al was when Lily’s sister, was straight with her, that her Uncle was no longer alive. This book is a good way to open up discussions with children. Depending on your religious beliefs or personal preferences, this might be an important consideration. Some of Lily’s family say he is in heaven, others that he is in a different form. When discussing where her Uncle has gone, this story makes reference to an after life. Lily still has questions, what could they be? Will she come to find the answers and understand where Uncle Al is? Keep in mind when reading Where is Uncle Al?** That is until her sister explains it to her in straightforward terms. Obviously he doesn’t come to her party, so she decides to ask some members of her family where he is. But when she tells her mum, she simply shakes her head. Lilly has a plan, she is going to invite her uncle to her 6th birthday. There are pictures up of him around the house. He doesn’t come to visit her when she is born or for Sunday lunch. Where’s Uncle Al, wrapped in red tissue paper with a blue ribbon and a handwritten note to Carrie (Hookable books) What is Where is Uncle Al about?

Library Girl and Book Boy, aka Jo Cummins suggested ‘Where’s Uncle Al?’ The publishers ( All Around Publishing) sent me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

So, on Instagram and Twitter I asked my followers for recommendations. Although on my Instagram account, I often post books around the theme of loss and bereavement, I couldn’t think of one to fulfil this particular brief. Sadly, she had recently lost her father, whom her child had never met. She was looking for a book to read to her child. One of my followers on Instagram, contacted me in March. The story behind receiving ‘Where’s Uncle Al?’ Have you ever lost someone? Or been told about someone who died but who you never met? ‘Where’s Uncle Al?’ is a delicate exploration of just that.** Where is Uncle Al? A picture book for kids about death and the afterlife.

Where is Uncle Al? by Eva Hibbs