Member Reviews
Caitlin Doughty is probably one of my favorite authors and this book is no different! I loved that she answered kids questions about death in a way that was funny, but not condescending. She gave really excellent information about the gross/scary/misunderstood parts of death and I love that it's becoming more normal to talk about the process of dying and death. The illustrations were also spot on.
Caitlin Doughty is a gift. Fans of her previous books will find a lot with this one or those new to her unique style will find it creepy as well as cool (as much as death can be). She is just the right amount of humorous and delicate with her discussions of those questions that we didn't even know wanted to know the answers to.
Humorous, yet filled with interesting facts. Answers all the questions one is too shy to ask! Very clever and original.
Caitlin's back! Back again! Caitlin's back! Tell a friend!
Death enthusiast Caitlin Doughty has come out with another wonderful volume of weird things you (I) always wanted to know about death, and it's just as funny and honest and weird as her other books have been. This time she's taken the moniker of her YouTube channel - AskAMortician - literally. "Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs" is, as the subtitle rightly states, a question and answer-style book filled with queries kids have put to Caitlin about what happens after we die.
Kids are weird, is what I learned, and they ask the best questions.
If you've watched the AskAMortician channel, most of the information in the book won't be new to you, but that's okay, because it's written so conversationally (and is so funny - the only highlights I made in the text were when I laughed to myself while laying in a dark living room, as seemed appropriate) that I didn't mind hearing it all over again. And it's definitely written in a way that kids would understand it, but I, a human adult who turns 31 next week, enjoyed it deeply, too.
The illustrations in this book are also gorgeous. The tiny caricatures of Caitlin and personified Death were so cute I want to get them as prints to hang up on my walls. Don't think I won't.
If you're a fan of Doughty's YouTube channel or enjoyed her other books, here's another one for you. It's short and sweet and certain to entertain the Deathling in all of us.
I received this book in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley.
I adore Caitlin so much and have read all of her other books (The Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and From Here to Eternity) and have loved them so very much. She has a funny frank style of answering difficult questions that helps make those questions not so difficult. I love how the frankness of children's questions matches the frankness of Caitlin's answers. I think that this is a great resource for older children who have some questions about death and dying as well as parents who need help answering questions or even just adults with an interest in learning more about death. Caitlin takes something that is scary for many people and makes it into a normal thing that you can talk about. Overall I think that this book is interesting and helps make answers about death and dying accessible to adults and children alike.
This book was really fun. I somehow missed that it was specifically for children when I requested it, but it's enjoyable for all ages. Caitlin Doughty is a known quantity in the "people who write about death" space and I'd really enjoyed her two previous books. This one is even more delightful since she gets to be a little bit more humorous, plus the book has terrific illustrations which accentuated what she was talking about. Kids questions (from actual kids, she notes) range from "Can I get my hamster buried with me?" to "Why was grandma wrapped in plastic wrap under her shirt?" While the topics are tricky, Doughty is knowledgeable but also kind. Her jokes are never at the expense of people mourning a loved one or making fun of people's beliefs or practices. This is a great educational and fun book and I'm happy I got a chance to see it early.
Having been fascinated by Caitlin Doughty’s previous book 'From Here to Eternity' about burial rituals around the world (I'm all in for a sky burial!), she now turns her attention to the younger generation and their fascination with the gruesome and macabre. As the title might suggest, this book gathers together a bunch of questions that kids have about death, busting some misconceptions and affirming some worst fears in the process!
The inevitable “will I poop myself when I die?” is in there, as well as the titular feline feasting, along with a host of other weird and wonderful scenarios.
This is a great read for adults and kids alike. Highly recommended.
A thoroughly disturbing book, which will delight morbid readers with its candid answers to macabre questions from children. Doughty, a practicing mortician, has heard every imaginable query from youngsters, from the title question (the answer is probably not, but your dog will), to whether Grandma can have a Viking funeral (nope). Not for the squeamish, which sadly includes me, but I can already think of several library patrons who will absolutely adore this book.
Brief but extremely informative. Doughty continues to do yeoman's work by educating her readers about all aspects of death, this time by answering questions from a very young audience. Kids can be refreshingly unfiltered and have provided 35 wide-ranging questions that Doughty thoroughly tackles with aplomb and the occasional light humor that I've come to expect from her writing. Although children posed the questions, the material here is more suitable for young adults and up. Very enjoyable, and I learned quite a bit while reading!
I have read Caitlin's other two books and this one is just as good as those. She has a way of making a serious and sensitive topic educational and approachable. Her humor helps make everything easier to relate to. I found this book to be a little funnier than the other two mainly because of the questions that were asked by children. Some of them are pretty funny (like the title of the book "Will my cat eat my eyeballs when I die?"). At the same time, some of these questions were things I've never even considered before and, because of that, actually taught me some new things.
What an incredibly delightful, if creepy, read! It's true that you can never predict what children will say, or in this case, ask; and those bizarre questions have led to a book that it both educational and chortling good. While I am disappointed that a flaming Viking ship is not in my funereal future, I'm somewhat relieved that my Gracie will probably nibble my lips away before going for my eyes. I'm not sure why that makes me feel better, but it does. Caitlin Doughty could go on indefinitely about a host of normally repulsive topics, and I would eat it all up. It should be added that Diane Ruiz's somewhat ghoulish artwork add greatly to the macabre merriment. I offer a challenge: Pick up this book and read a paragraph. I'm betting that you won't put it down until you regretfully run out of pages.
This was great! Light, funny, and informative. There's good conversation fodder, and I can see where it can lead to good family discussion about important decisions.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs is an entertaining read. Although the questions in this book have supposedly been posed by children, they would be of interest to adults as well. With humour and sensitivity, author Doughty navigates topics such as decomposition, funeral directors, and cremation.
My friend Kim raves about Doughty, and now I understand why. She walks the perfect line between laugh out loud humor and utmost respect for the dead. Through all of her answers to these questions that only children would think to ask, she is never once disrespectful or flippant. She is, however, extremely relatable and very readable. I look forward to checking out her other works. Oh, and if you are worried about reading this with your child because of the content, don't fret. She wrote it for kids and, if they're thoughtful enough to ask the questions, they're mature enough to hear the answer explained at their own level by an expert. Trust Caitlin--your kids are ready for this info.
Caitlin Doughty is a marvel and should be considered a first purchase for all general nonfiction collections - including high schools.
Being a fan of Caitlin Doughty and her previous books, I was excited to see that she had written another. This book answers questions that kids (and quite frankly inquisitive adults) ask about death and dying as well as the job of the mortician. She answers these questions with science, facts, history and humor.
Readers who enjoy asking the weird and wild questions, who enjoy "gross" or morbid facts will absolutely love this book. It's a fascinating read on a fascinating topic. Very much in the style of Mary Roach, Doughty answers all the questions that everyone is afraid to ask (except, apparently, for the children--yes, children--who supplied the questions for this book).
Because death makes us uncomfortable, people often don't like to discuss it, or ask about it in any way. And that's why I enjoyed this book so much. It provides thought-provoking questions (Why does our body change colors when we die?), as well as gross (Will my cat eat me when I die?), and just plain curious (Could I preserve myself in amber?) without making me look up the answers myself, or (even worse!) ask someone face to face. While the questions were supplied by kids, the language is more adult (not in terms of swearing, but there are so medical terms that might be a bit above the heads of younger readers). Because of this, and the fact that the book has morbidly cute illustrations, I'm not entirely sure who Doughty's target audience was meant to be. I suppose I would consider it Mary-Roach-lite and suggest it to curious adults, teens, and older (mature middle-grade) readers, especially those who have already enjoyed "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers"
Death doesn't have to be scary, and science is fun, so I think this is a great addition to any library collection. In the hands of the right reader, it will bring hours of entertainment.
I have read all of Caitlin's previous books and I have learned so much from them so as soon as I saw that she had a book for kids coming out I was excited for it. Though this book is meant for a bit older kids than I may be expecting I learned so much again from this book.
I love that the book is divided up into questions that kids ask and the answers are older kid friendly without skirting past the gross and uncomfortable stuff. The pictures are a little bit creepy sometimes, but they fit the tone of the book itself. This was a fun read that is great for any kids who are very interested in death and what happens to bodies after.
What a great book! I read through it in one quick sitting. As always, Caitlin Doughty is able to take the serious and somber topic of death and use just the right balance of humor, facts, and science to make it approachable and not-so-scary. A must-read for anyone that has a morbid curiosity about both common and uncommon scenarios of what happens after the dearly departed pass on.
***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
While is death is usually sad, it is merely a part of life. I appreciated how Caitlin Doughty addressed some questions (from kids) in a direct and sometimes humorous manner. She remained respectful, but also made the topic interesting and less morbid.