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Reviews of Books About Children and Death
- The Parent's Sourcebook
[sources incl. amazon]
- Subject: #'s for grieving parents
I recently found a book, called "The Parent's Sourcebook". It has
a chapter on grief and mourning the loss of a child. [Included is a
list of all sorts of support groups for grieving parents, not
reproduced here--some are for parents who've had miscarriages.
Complete with addresses and phone numbers, it looks extremely helpful
--ed.] -- jcm5132 [posted]
- Bryan Mellonie and Roger Ingpen: Lifetimes. (Death in the family) "The
beautiful way to explain death to children." Bantam, 1983. paperback.
[sources incl. amazon]
- This book, suitable for ages ~2 and up, is a very good introduction to
the subject and idea of death. Its theme is that everything --
plants, animals, people -- has a lifetime, and that each lifetime has
a beginning and an end. It acknowledges that the end of a lifetime is
sad, but treats it as a natural and non-threatening event, as part of
the life itself. Best, it can give a child the vocabulary she needs
should she want to talk about her own feelings.
My elder daughter chose this book from the library as part of her
usual voracious (and indiscriminate) appetite for books, not because
we needed to talk about death at the time. However, on two subsequent
occasions when death touched our family, I noted that she had retained
both the vocabulary and the message of Lifetimes, and we were able to
talk more easily because of it.
- ....a really great book that I think does an excellent
job explaining death to children. It does it in a way which
is probably compatible with most religions and philosphies.
[Probably not for people whose religions explain everything
in detail.]
- Helping Children Cope With Death (ISBN 1-890534-00-5)
[sources incl. amazon]
- We got [this booklet] from the Dougy Center (The National Center
for Grieving Children and Families). The Dougy Center focuses
mostly on helping children who have lost a parent (or primary
caregiver), sibling, or teen friend, but most of what is in
the booklet applies to kids who are grieving for grandparents
or other close relatives. The booklet is about $10 and is
available from:
The Dougy Center for Grieving Children
3909 SE 52nd Avenue
PO Box 86852
Portland, OR 97286
(503) 775-5683
-Alan Jeddeloh
Other books useful for discussing death with children:
- Fred Rogers: Talking With Young Children About Death, (Mr. Rogers'
Neighborhood), Family Communications, 4802 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
15213. Pamphlet.
- Earl Grollman: Talking About Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child.
1976. Beacon Press, Boston
[sources incl. amazon]
- William Kroen: Helping children cope with the loss of a loved one: a
guide for grownups. [sources incl. amazon
and
Free Spirit Publishing (see Sources)]
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