WE ALL LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND
It is sad to read the past comment on this book with a rating of 1. The message is clear that by living we have made a difference in someones life. With our passing the tree/family has become stronger with what we have left behind in values, morals and how we loved one another while on this earth. To think or believe we have had no effect on another human being whether a family, friend,etc. would have said I never lived. It is indeed a wonderful book of comfort to those who have lost love ones and provides a sense of purpose of why we are here...simply to love one another and to leave this world in a better place than we found it. I have given this book to many who had lost loved ones and the response has been most positive.I am sad for the person who wrote the negative as I feel this person is still in the anger stage of the grieving process. I wish them well

illustrations
Freddy The Leaf is a wonderful story, and we were glad to find this new edition. We were disappointed to discover photographs rather than illustrations, though.

I Hate this Book With a Passion
My father died when I was 7 and I was given this book shortly thereafter by a family friend. I am now in my mid twenties and I have seldom missed an opportunity to rant about this book. Tonight I finally decided to look up other people's opinions on it and was shocked to see it enjoys overwhelming praise and support. So shocked I felt compelled to express my strongly negative opinion on it immediately at 3:30 AM.

My first problem with the book is that I felt it rubbed salt in my wounds, because its main character, Freddie, is killed off by the end of the book. Freddie is an anthropomorphic leaf, a quality which naturally makes him easier for a child or anyone for that matter to develop some emotion towards. I felt the book was saying to me, "Sorry your Dad's dead, but hey look at this lovable fella, I know he's not your Dad but he's nice right, try to love him. Feel any better? Yes? Well there!! Now he's dead too!!! And all his friends?! Well, they're already dead!! How's that make you feel?!?! Terrible, right!?! Good!!".

Further, because Freddie has the life span of a leaf, he is born in the spring and dies in the fall, this compressed time frame combined with his inquisitive childlike tone and the book's brevity made it impossible for me to imagine Freddie dying as an old man, but made me picture him as a child throughout. This was depressing on two fronts. First, at the time it was summer and as I imagined Freddie being my own age throughout the book it therefore made me imagine myself dying in terms of his time frame, ie by the end of fall. And second, it really highlighted just how short life is, something I did not feel the need to be reminded of at the time.

There are many other things I could go on about that make me despise this book, but this review would get far too long, and I think I've gotten across at least enough of my anger and frustration with it to go to sleep.

So to sum up I may be the only one here, but I hate this book. It is the worst book I have ever encountered, it made me feel horrible at the time and it upsets me to this day. If I could I would give it 0 stars.

Moving and Profound
A profoundly sensitive approach to death as a part of life, this book offers wisdom, courage, and the opportunity for reflection about our lives, our meaning, and our purpose. Beautifully photographed and simply written, "The Fall of Freddie the Leaf" describes the life of a leaf named Freddie: his friendships with other leaves, his observations, and his tender feelings. Freddie has conversations of meaning and depth with his leaf-friend Daniel, whose wisdom of the life-cycle brings comfort With Freddie's realization that some of the other leaves disapppear also comes the understanding that his time to pass on will also come, and although there is sadness, there is also hope and understanding. The moment of Freddie's passing is dignified, poignant, and the book is one of affirmation, both for children and adults. Remember Beauty and Songs for a Blue Time, Badger's Parting Gifts.

More Than Grief Counseling
Many people first encounter "Freddie" during the times surrounding the deaths of loved ones, but the value of the book goes far beyond grief counseling.
The story of Freddie the Leaf is ultimately not just about death, but about becoming attuned to the cycles of life. As such, it should be bought and read to children regardless of whether a loved one is dying. A large part of the story is concerned with how Freddie lives and relates to the world around him: the other leaves on his tree, the tree itself and to the world surrounding the tree, the people and creatures inhabiting that world and so on.
This is a book about how we relate to the Universe, how we find a place in it that is right for us, and how we see ourselves as part of its inevitable movement. Death is only a part of that movement.
The grief caused by death is, after all, not about the death itself, but rather about the absence of the loved one. The understanding of death does not lessen the pain of that absence, but it does place it in a context that is larger than any specific death.
Freddie's reluctance to let go and fall, is really about his failure to relax into his place in the larger context. Once he sees himself as a part of the Universe, he finds peace and contentment in it. As such, "The Fall of Freddie the Leaf" is an extraordinarily effective way of introducing, not only discussions about death, but discussions with children (and adults, I might add) about the rhythms of life, and how making a good death is largely dependent on living a good and authentic life, as Freddie did.
The book is, after all, sub-titled, "A Story of Life for All Ages," and as such, it deserves to be on everyone's bookshelf whether they are dealing with a death in the family or not.