This is such a lovely way to memorialize your mother.
I was going to put in the exact same quote as the PP...there's lots of really beautiful stuff in the The Little Prince about saying goodbye & friendship that would make a lovely reading. I suggest taking a look at the last third of the book. I looked up the quote above, & here it is in it's entirety:
And he went back to the fox.
"Good-bye," he said.
"Good-bye," said the fox. "Here is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."
"Anything essential is invisible to the eyes," the little prince repeated, in order to remember.
"It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important."
"It's the time I spent on my rose...," the little prince repeated, in order to remember.
"People have forgotten this truth," the fox said. "But you mustn't forget it. You become responsible forever for what you've tamed. You're responsible for your rose..."
"I''m responsible for my rose...," the little prince repeated in order to remember.
Here's more from The Little Prince:
"What makes the desert beautiful," the little prince said, "is that it hides a well somewhere..."
I was surprised by suddenly understanding the mysterious radiance of the sands. When I was a litle boy I lived in an old house, and there was a legen dthat a treasure was buried in it somewhere. Of course, no one was ever able to find the treasure...But it cast a spell over that whole house. My house hid a secret in the depths of its heart...
Yes," I said to the little prince, "whether it's a house or the stars or the desert, what makes them beautiful is invisible."
"I'm glad," he siad, "you agree with my fox."
As the little prince was falling asleep, I picked him up in my arms, and started walking again...It was as if I was carrying a fragile treasure...By the light of the moon, I gazed at that pale forehead, those closed eyes, those locks of hair trembling in the wind, and I said to myself, What I am looking at is only a shell. What's most important is invisible...
Here's another favorite quote about the heart, this one is from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, when Sara says good-bye to her papa:
Then he went with Sara into her little sitting-room and they bade each other good-bye. Sara sat on his knee and held the lapels of his coat in her small hands, and looked long and hard at his face.
"Are you learning me by heart, little Sara," he said, stroking her hair.
"No," she answered. "I know you by heart. You are inside my heart."
Two other longer suggestions: The very end of The House at Pooh Corner (AAMilne) has a lovely almost-good-bye dialogue between Christopher Robin & Pooh. The Velveteen Rabbit (Margery Williams), just at the end, when the nursery fairy makes the velveteen rabbit real - all about transformation.
Finally, a piece I love from Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach), although I'm not sure if this book is considered children's lit (I read it to my 5yrd old):
They came in the evening, then, and found Jonathan gliding peaceful and alone through his beloved sky. The two gulls that appeared at his wings were pure as starlight, and the glow from them was gentle and friendly in the high night air. But most lovely of all was the skill with which they flew, their wingtips moving a precise and constant inch from his own.
Without a word, Jonathan put them to his test, a test that no gull had ever passed...He folded his wings, rolled and dropped in a dive to a hundred ninety miles per hour. They dropped with him, streaking down in flawless formation...He recovered to level flight and was quiet for a time before he spoke. "Very well," he said, "who are you?"
"We're from your Flock, Jonathan. We are your brothers." The words were strong and calm. "We've come to take you higher, to take you home...One school is finished, and the time has come for another to begin."
As it had shined across him all his life, so understanding lighted that moment for Jonathan Seagull. They were right. He could fly higher, and it was time to go home.
He gave one last look across the sky, across the magnificent silver land where he had learned so much.
"I'm ready," he said at last.
And Jonathan Livingston Seagull rose with the two star-bright gulls to disappear into a perfect dark sky.
Many blessings to you and your family. I'm sure you will find the right way to say good bye.
