Three bored children discover a dead bumblebee and use the occasion to fill the long summer hours, creating the business Funerals Ltd. for the animals, insects, fish, you-name-it, in their community. Each child has a special role: the hole digger, the poet, and the chief mourner. The first- person narration and funeral poems are witty and sometimes poignant, the illustrations by one of Sweden's premier artists are tender, and the end result is both hilarious and yet moving.

2021 USBBY Outstanding International Book. The author won the Astrid Lindgren Prize in 2006.

Both author and illustrator live in Sweden.

Sweden. Originally published in Swedish as Alla döda små djur by Bonnier Carlsen Bokfoerlager in 2006. English translation by Julia Marshall published in the United States by Gecko Press (Wellington, New Zealand) in 2020.

"One summer's day we started a business called Funerals Ltd., to help all the poor dead animals in the world. Esther did the digging, I wrote the poems, and Esther's little brother, Puttie, cried."

Early readers will love the dry humor and wonderfully rounded story of All the Dear Little Animals. Nilsson perfectly captures the child's perspective, balancing compassion and humor. This is a very funny story about a topic that touches all of us.