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Circles

Name: Circles
ISBN: 9781928442059

Jump to At a Glance & Reader Fit

Alex Latimer - Author

Book DashISBN 9781928442059ENEbook

CC BY 4.0

Credits & Licence

Originally published by Book Dash. Writer: Alex Latimer. Illustrator: Patrick Latimer. Designer: Gordon Latimer. Editor: Diane Awerbuck.

Cover resized and converted to WebP; artwork unchanged. Suitabook’s AI guidance is a separate assessment.

Original Book on Book Dash

A young vulture first finds the sight of a dead buck upsetting. Returning later, he sees plants and animals thriving around its remains, and hears his mother connect the cycle of life with the lessons and love passed on.

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Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

DeathNatural cyclesNew growth

Consider

Grief and lossBereavement

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

deathnatural cyclesnew growthlovememoryfamilylegacy

FictionPicture book

Themes in Context

Death and renewal

The young vulture sees a buck die, then returns to see plants and other creatures using the place around its remains.Ambiguous

How the book presents it: The story acknowledges death as difficult and sad while also presenting it as part of a cycle that supports new life; it does not simply dismiss the young vulture’s distress.

Talk about: Does the new growth change how the young vulture understands the buck’s death?

What we leave behind

The mother tells her son that bodies, lessons, love and memories are left behind, and says these are carried through children, family and friends.

How the book presents it: The closing exchange warmly presents love and remembered lessons as lasting legacies.

Talk about: What might count as a lesson or memory that someone leaves with others?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

The story gives space to a child’s immediate disgust as well as a parent’s wider perspective. Its changing landscape makes the idea of renewal visible, while the final exchange extends the theme to love and memory.

What Deserves Attention

Death is central: the buck collapses, and later its skeleton is shown among growing plants. The young vulture calls the sight horrible and says “Yuck”, so the subject is discussed directly rather than hidden.

A Conversation Worth Having

What do you think the young vulture finds difficult about the buck’s death, and does his view change when he sees what grows there?

Reading Approach

Pause at the death and let the child set the pace. You could acknowledge that it is sad or unpleasant, then look together at how the landscape changes before discussing the mother’s ideas about what we leave behind.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. The complete text and illustrations were available for this guide.

What remains unconfirmed

Death and renewal: The story offers one mother’s interpretation; it does not explain how different readers might feel about death or the cycle it depicts.
What we leave behind: The book presents the mother’s view but does not explore other beliefs about what happens after death.

Book Dash — Circles

Complete story and illustrations · ISBN 9781928442059

Checked: 8 October 2026.

Relevant to: Death and renewal; What we leave behind

Benefits, discussion questions and reading approaches are suggestions. Your knowledge of your child remains part of the decision.

Heidi