Children's Books that Answer Common Questions About Death
Unfortunately, often times, kids experience loss in the hospital environment. There are a lot of ways to support a child's grief and loss. One of those ways is to answer their questions about the logistics and tradition. Kids need to understand exactly what happens and why we do the things we do. This isn't weird. This is normal. This is how they handle every thing else in their world. Why would death be any different. A lot of these books also support common feelings... but I will share more resources on that next week.
(I am adding links to all of the books to help you all easily find and purchase. I do receive a small commission, but it doesn't cost you any more and it doesn't take anything away from the author. It's just Amazon that makes a little less per purchase. :) I hope this justifies the amount of time I like to give to the HBL.)
We Need to Talk About Death: An Important Book About Grief, Celebrations, and Love by Sarah Chavez
This book takes on a lot of content including the science and history of death traditions including funerals, common feelings that come with death, and the inspirational qualities that can be linked to missing a person. It’s beautifully written in a way that helps kids feel okay talking about death, but some of these beautiful and insightful ways of looking at things could be very confusing for children. If the child is a ‘black and white thinker’, they will need an adult to clarify aspects of it. This book would be great for middle elementary-middle school (or maybe even high school if they are receptive to a picture book).
https://amzn.to/3JVzY0S
Goodbye: A First Conversation About Grief
This is a simply written book that helps families have all the words they need to set up a first conversation about death. It helps kids understand the factual side of death and brings up the unknowns in a way that is appropriate for any family and would like to lead to further conversation about afterlife, etc. The book also talks about grief and what it can look like. The book addresses typical traditions and celebrations relating to grief as well. The book would be great for young children who haven’t had a lot of experience with death. It seems like it would be a great jumping off point for all sort of other questions or conversations. Great for young elementary.
https://amzn.to/3Xw3g9n
Why Do Things Die? by Katie Daynes (Available in Spanish and other languages)
This book takes a younger reader (and their caregiver) through various common questions. Each lift the flap has various answers and comments that are relevant to how young children think. The questions include: Why do things die? Is it okay to talk about dying? What happens when someone dies? Can I shout and cry and hide away? How can I stop being sad? …and then lastly a chance to focus on the happy memories of someone who has died. This book would be great for young children who ask questions about death or have a loved one who has died. Good for very young through young elementary. For some kids you might pick and choose some flaps.
https://amzn.to/49LaJsz
What Happens When A Loved One Dies: Our First Talk About Death by Dr. Jillian Roberts
This is another simply-written book about death. The book goes through common questions and addresses them matter of factly. I think this would be a good place to start with a lot of young children. I will say that the book focuses more on the idea of people dying when they are old or “at the end of the their life”. It might not be the perfect fit for kids who have lost a young sibling or friend or even a parent. Otherwise, this book would be good for preschool through young elementary.
https://amzn.to/3XpBoDX
When Someone Dies: A Book About Death for Kids Who Are Curious or Who Are Experiencing a Death by Laura Camerona
This was a book I wrote at the beginning of Words Worth Repeating when I was creating a lot of customized Legacy books for families. While the Legacy books built on the connection between the young reader and the person who died, I wanted another resource to explain all of the details. So this book covers the factual pieces of death, traditions, feelings and how people feel them, the soul, etc. I stand by the content as being something appropriate for preschool through middle elementary, but some day I want to go back through and freshen up the illustrations. Created to be appropriate for families no matter the age or cause of death.
https://amzn.to/3JwFMOp
