Kirby’s Ocean Friend is a touching story about a young ocean liner named Kirby whose mother dies and leaves Kirby wondering if he can finish growing up by himself.  Kirby is very upset by the loss of his mother and sails around the North Atlantic Ocean aimlessly until Pearl, an albatross, comes to his rescue.  Pearl helps Kirby remember all of the life lessons that his mother taught him and she also helps Kirby through his ‘journey of grief’ by talking to him about how he feels about his mother’s death.  With Pearl's help and friendship, Kirby finishes growing up and becomes a fine young ocean liner, just like his mother wanted him to become.

Kirby’s Ocean Friend was written as a grief therapy tool for parents, family members, teachers, and grief therapy professionals to help young children through their ‘journey of grief’ after the loss of a parent.  The book addresses many of the thoughts and feelings young children feel, including profound feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and the fear of not being able to finish growing up without the parent they lost.  Parents who are terminally ill may also wish to read Kirby’s Ocean Friend to their young children to help prepare them for their passing.

Author Bio: Diane L.M. Cook is Calgary’s newest children’s picture book author.  A native Calgarian, Cook wrote Kirby’s Ocean Friend, a touching story about a young ocean liner named Kirby who, after the death of his mother, is helped by his ocean friend Pearl on his ‘journey of grief’.  When Cook lost her mother to cancer she had great difficulty finding grief therapy books that dealt with the loss of a parent.  This gave Cook the inspiration to write a children’s picture book as a grief therapy tool for young children that have lost a parent.

To contact the author, Diane L.M. Cook, please send an email to mary-ameliabookco@shaw.ca.

Illustrator Bio: A native of Alberta, Cathy J. Checora currently attends the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary to pursue her lifelong interest in the arts.  Checora’s first undertaking as a children’s picture book illustrator is Kirby’s Ocean Friend.  Checora also lost her mother to cancer and she hopes that her illustrations in Kirby’s Ocean Friend will provide comfort to young children that have lost a parent.

To contact the illustrator, Cathy J. Checora, please send an email to cathy@seechecora.com.