Rating: - Teaches about caring during life's natural disasters, like death
When May dies, she leaves her husband who is totally lost and her niece who wants to brign him back to an interest in life, or she'll have no one in the world. But, it is an utterly nerdy boy, whom she doesn't like, who keeps coming up with oddball ideas one of which finally does bring uncle back to interest in life. You get to see the perspective of the girl, since she tells the story, and finally that of May who has passed away. All the way through, you not only get to see what it means to care about people who are under stress, but you get to see what it means to be the one cared for. And, in the process, you get to discover what your own feelings of loyalty to life are. This story seemed to live more for my 10-yo daughter because I read it to her and there were parts at which I could not keep from crying. Daughter seeing Papa cry added to our father/daughter bonding. Very moving, touching, profound book. Don't miss it.

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Rating: - Don't Miss out on Missing May!
This book is actually for preteens but I was required to read it for a class. I loved it so much I ended up rereading it with my 10-year-old son. This book is an amazing story and teaches lots of life lessons.It is about dealing with grief, treasuring life and making unexpected friends.

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Rating: - After receiving great love, there often comes enormous bereavement
This book is about great love and the great sorrow when an elderly person dies. Summer was an orphan whose parents died in a great flood. For years, she bounced from home to home, no relative really wanting her. Then she meets her Uncle Ob and Aunt May. They are elderly, poor and not in the best of health. Yet, they are overflowing with love, so they take her in and raise her with what they have.
Suddenly, May dies and Summer and Ob are distraught. Ob has lost the will to live and Summer does not know what to do. A neighbor boy named Cletus comes into their lives and talks about a church run by a spiritualist medium and they decide to visit her and also tour the West Virginia capitol city. When they arrive, they discover that the medium has joined the spirit world, so in a depressed state, they turn back for home.
However, Ob suddenly turns around and they visit the capitol building. The splendor uplifts their spirits and when they arrive home, Summer is overcome by crying and Ob holds her tight. This brings his spirit back and the next day Ob is once again full of life. The book closes with a very touching letter to Summer from May about how they always felt that their poverty kept them from giving Summer all she needed.
If they are lucky, children will suffer the loss of someone who gave them the amount of love and dedication Summer experienced. At that time, they must cope with it and this book will help ease that pain.

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Rating: - Mystic May
This book really rubbed me the wrong way. I understand the need to talk about death with kids, but I feel that there are other books that do a better job.

Missing May spends too much time talking about "the spirit world" and not necessarily about whether things are going to work out for Summer. It seems like Ob is toast from the start and that Summer is going to have to fend for herself. Ob is so depressed about the loss of his wife that he about dies from it. Yet, he is somehow rejuvenated by a wacky kid named Cletus who carries around a suitcase full of pictures that he's collected over the years.

This is a real sad story about how Ob is so determined to be with or talk to his poor old May that he, Summer, and Cletus set out on a journey to find a mystic preacher who supposedly can communicate with the dead. I'm not going to argue about how this book was written because I think it was fairly decent. However, I do have an argument with how this author goes about explaining death in a very obscure way to an assumed young audience. My personal beliefs have me torn on the issue of teaching kids about spirits, ghosts, and contacting the departed this side of the grave. All of that would sound confusing to most kids and perhaps even frightening.

If you are going to tell a story about losing a loved one to death, then you really need to explain a few things. When someone dies they go to another place. People that physically die can live inside our hearts and minds as we remember the times that are spent with them. Also, the author needs convey that some sense of comfort will be given for those left behind. You may choose whether it is proper to talk about heaven and hell depending on your audience, but these are real places and we shouldn't kid with our children on these matters. Parents should go into more detail with their children regarding death because it is more of a religious matter.

If you are one that doesn't want to favor any particular religion but wants to help kids better understand death try reading "Come Again in the Spring" by Richard Kennedy or "The Fall of Freddie the Leaf" by Leo Buscaglia. These books will at least help children understand WHY people die. In regards to WHERE we go when we die, this should be a parent's responsibility to explain.

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Rating: - Great book, heavy subject matter
This story is about a young girl who loses the closest thing she had to a mother and how she grieves. The book is very well written, obviously, as it is a Newberry winner. It really shows the stages of emotion that Summer, the main character goes through and helps children to understand how to hang on to hope. For children that do not have many ideas about death, the book may seem pretty uneventful since a lot of the pages are simply filled with Summer's thoughts about losing May. For children that maybe have experienced a loss and are ready to grieve or children that want to know more or are concerned about death (which they do need to learn about sometime), this book is a beautiful story about accepting loss and choosing to live life day by day, knowing you will keep the memories, but that not all hope is lost.