| Author, Title,
Publisher, Year |
Summary |
Angell, J.
Ronnie and Rosey
Scarsdale, NY: Bradbury, 1977 |
Thirteen-year-old Ronnie's father dies. Both Ronnie
and her mother have difficulty filling the void caused by his loss. |
Bond, N.
A Place to Come Back To
New York, NY: Athenaeum, 1984 |
Charlotte's friend Oliver faces the traumatic death
of his great uncle, who is also his guardian. Charlotte finds it
difficult to meet Oliver's needs as he comes to terms with death. |
Branfield, J.
The Fox in Winter
New York, NY: F. Warne, 1980 |
A teenage girl befriends a proud old man after
the death of his wife. She is able to share in many of his memories. |
Bunting, E.
The Empty Window
New York, NY: F. Warne, 1980 |
C.G. and his brother, Sweeney, capture a parrot
for their friend Joe Rizzo, who only has a short time to live.
The difficult part, though, is giving the gift to Joe, face-to-face.
This story explores the confusing emotions surrounding the death
of a friend. |
Bunting, E.
The Happy Funeral
New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1982. |
When Laura's grandfather dies, the young Chinese-American
girl is unhappy and confused. She does not understand her mother's
words, "When someone is very old and has lived a good life,
he is happy to go." Laura helps her family prepare for the
funeral. As the ceremony draws to a close, Laura is still unhappy,
but her sorrow is mixed with the loving memory of her grandfather. |
Buscaglia, L.
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf
Thorofare, N.J.: Slack Incorporated, 1982 |
This is a story about a leaf named Freddie. The
book tells how Freddie and his companion leaves change with passing
seasons, finally falling to the ground with winter's snow. It is
an inspiring allegory illustrating the delicate balance between
life and death. |
Carle, E.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Collins World |
This is a story about a caterpillar that goes through
changes and transformations to become a beautiful betterfly. |
Carrick, C.
The Accident
New York, NY: Seabury Press, 1976 |
Christopher's dog is hit by a truck and killed.
He deals with his feelings of guilt and depression. |
Clifton, L.
Everett Anderson's Goodbye
New York, NY: Holt, Rinehard, and Winston, 1983 |
Everett's father makes him realize it is okay to
love and his father's love for him will last forever. We watch
him struggle through the five stages listed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross:
denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. |
DePaola, T.
Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
New York, NY: Putnam, 1973 |
Tommy loved visiting with his grandmother and great-grandmother
on Sunday afternoons. But one day, when Tommy runs upstairs to
see Nana, her bedroom is empty. This is a heartwarming story of
that special relationship between the very young and the very old
and the moment when the two must part. |
Emberley, E. & Miranda, A.
Glad Monster Sad Monster - A Book About Feelings
New York, NY: Scholastic Inc., 1997 |
Sometimes it's hard to tell someone that you are
sad or happy, lonely or glad. This joyful and useful book enables
children and adults to discuss feelings in an easy and non-threatening
way. |
Fassler, J.
My Grandpa Died Today
New York, NY: Behavioral Publications, 1971 |
When his grandfather dies, David must struggle
to understand and accept his death. In doing so, David learns a
little bit more about life. |
Fox, M.
Tough Boris
San Diego, CA: Hartcourt Brace & Company, 1994 |
Boris Von der Broch is a mean, greedy old pirate
- tough as nails, through and through, like all pirates - or is
he? |
Fox, M.
Wilfid Gordon McDonald Partridge
New York, NY: Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 1985 |
Wilfid Gordon McDonald Partridge learns what memories
are all about from the people living in a senior citizens' home
next door to his house. |
Haddad, C.
The Last Ride
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead, 1984 |
Doug prohibits one friend from going home with
a drunk driver. Others, however, are killed in a fatal crash. He
feels responsible. |
Harris, A.
Why Did He Die?
Minneapolis, NM: Lerner Publications, 1965 |
When his friend's grandfather dies, Scott's mother
discusses death with him. |
Hermes, P.
You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye
San Diego, CA: Hartcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982 |
Thirteen-year-old Sarah must come to terms with
the fact that her mother is dying of cancer. |
Hickman, M.
Last Week My Brother Anthony Died
Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1984 |
A small girl describes her feelings of grief after
the death of her four-week-old baby brother. |
Hoopes, L.
Nana
New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1981 |
It is the little girl's first morning without Nana.
The girl watches and listens to the morning, calling to the chickadee,
the way Nana taught her. Lyn Hoopes's gentle words share with young
children a spiritual sense of life, helping them to better understand
the loss of a loved one. |
Hutchins, P.
Changes, Changes
New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1971 |
A little wooden couple are happy in their building
block house until it catches fire. This wordless picture book explores
how the couple keeps adapting to new situations. |
Madler, T.
Why did Grandpa Die?
Milwaukee: Raintree Children's Books, 1980 |
This book presents major concepts related to death.
Dying is a part of life. Death is not temproary. Also introduced
are common funeral customs and exposure to feelings of grief. |
Mellonie, B., and Ingepen, R.
Lifetimes - The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children
Bantam Books, 1983 |
Everything has a beginning and an end. All living
things reached the end of their own special lifetimes. |
Park, B.
Mick Harte Was Here
New York, NY: Scholastic Inc., 1995 |
When her brother, Mick, is killed on his bicycle,
Phoebe Harte's world is suddenly turned upside down. Phoebe explores
her own feelings and comes to understand them and those of her
family. |
Peavy, L.
Allison's Grandfather
New York, NY: Scribner's, 1981 |
Erica knew that Allison's grandfather was dying
but she didn't really feel like asking about dying out loud. Instead,
she thought about Allison's grandfather as he was last summer on
his ranch. |
Peavy, L.
Allison's Grandfather
New York, NY: Scribner's, 1981 |
Erica knew that Allison's grandfather was dying
but she didn't really feel like asking about dying out loud. Instead,
she thought about Allison's grandfather as he was last summer on
his ranch. |
Seuss, T.
My Many Colored Days
New York, NY: Alfred A. Knoopf Publishing, 1996 |
Some days are red days, some days are blue days.
each colored day provides children with ways to explain different
feelings. |
Simon, N.
We Remember Philip
Chicago, IL: A. Whitman, 1979 |
Sam and his classmates try to find a way to comfort
their teacher whose son was killed in a mountain climbing accident. |
Simon, N.
The Saddest Time
Chicago, IL: A. Whitman, 1986 |
Various vignettes discuss death related to a variety
of different contexts including illness and accidents. |
Tiffault, B.
A Quilt for Elizabeth
Omaha, NE: 1992 |
Elizabeth's father is ill and then dies. This story
gives comforting ideas including making a quilt, assisted by Grandma,
with pieces of fabric cut from Daddy's clothing. |
Tobias, T.
Petey
New York, NY: Putna, 1978 |
Playing with Petey was a fun part of Emily's day.
When she came home from school, the little gerbil was always there
in his cage waiting for her. Now Petey was going to die. This is
the story of Emily's love for a friend. her loss teaches her that
life brings both change and continuity. |
Viorst, J.
The Tenth Good Thing About Barney
New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1971 |
A small boy's cat, Barney, has died. he needs to
thik of 10 good things about Barney so he can tell the audience
at Barney's funeral. He can only think of nine until he talks with
his father and discovers the tenth. He then begins to understand
the life cycle. |
Wise-Brown, M.
The Dead Bird
New York, NY: Harper Collins Children's Books, 1958 |
A group of children find a bird in the woods. The
children discover that the bird is dead. They make a grave for
the bird and hold a memorial service. The children go back to visit
the grave for as logn as they need to. Provides a concrete way
to explain death to very young children. |
*There are many other good books available for children
on grief and feelings. This list is just a start.
Text provided by:
Caring Connections
A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program
University of Utah Health Sciences Center
Caring Connections is sponsored
in part by
Ben B. and Iris M. Margolis Foundation.
