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death and grief (187), novel (77), 12-18 years old (64), 5-7 years old (61), 7-12 years old (48), non fiction (48), picture book (47), parent (39), accident (38), old age (36), illness (33), friend (32), sibling (32), grandparent (26), adult (19), 0-5 years old (18), pet (18), cancer (17), New Zealand (13), relative (12), Australia (10), infant death (7), suicide (7), murder (4), AIDS (4), anthropomorphism (3), funeral (2), miscarriage (2), short stories (2), war (1), animal (1), partner (1), reincarnation (1)
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Oct 9, 2008
Über meine Bibliothek
The bibliography was originally created as credit towards the Masters in Library and Information Studies, Victoria University of Wellington.

The books selected for this bibliography deal with death and the grief process. The bibliography focuses on books aimed at children and teenagers, aged 0-16, and non-fiction guides for concerned adults dealing with these groups. The books selected for this bibliography include picture books, sophisticated picture books, fiction and non-fiction for children and teenagers. There is also a section of books for adults, acknowledging that in most cases a grieving child will also mean a grieving adult.

Books are often helpful when it comes time to talk about something that is difficult. It is easier to address a painful topic when you have already created [a] caring atmosphere and when you have already read the words of authors who have dealt with it in an honest way, and who are not emotionally involved in your personal loss [Fitzgerald, Helen. The Grieving child: a parent's guide. New York, N.Y.: Fireside, 1992, p. 45.].

When children listen to a story, they continuously associate what they hear with their own memories. They search to connect their present experience of the story to events from the past [Rowshan, Arthur. Telling tales: how to use stories to help children deal with the challenges of life. Oxford, U.K.: One World Publications, 1997, p. 33].

Literature [about death] helps "normalize" loss, acknowledge the reality of loss, diminish the sense of estrangement or alienation that often accompanies loss, and identify, validate, and suggest constructive outlets for strong reactions to loss. Whether fiction or non-fiction, good resources encourage adolescents to learn from the experiences of others and to work out their own solutions to life's challenges [Corr, Charles, A. "Entering into Adolescent Understandings of death" in Bereaved children and teens. Ed. Earl A. Grollman. Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, 1995, p. 32-33.]

There are many factors for the inclusion or non-inclusion of items, as detailed below. There are many books which deal with death but have not been included as they do not fulfil these criteria.




The books selected usually fulfil traditional literary criteria, unless their popularity calls for their inclusion. The literary criteria include: realistic character development; style; and appropriate and realistic plot development. An important factor for inclusion is that the books offer realistic and/or factual information on the death and grief process. The grief process, from disbelief to acceptance and celebration of the life, should be represented in the text whether it is fiction or non-fiction. If the complete process is not shown the path toward acceptance should be clear.

The books selected reinforce the universality of the death and grief process, thus showing children and teenagers that they are not alone. To this end the majority of the books included are of recent publication and set in modern times. This enables a better identification with the characters and situations shown in the book. Some older books, or those with a historical focus, have been included if they offer something which overcomes the problem of distance between the book's time period and today.

The book should answer a majority of the following questions:
Is the book honest?
Does it provide accurate information about the reality of death?
How realistic is the book's emotional impact?
Is it needlessly frightening or confusing?
If non-fiction, is the information even-handed and bias avoided?
Are potentially inflammatory issues handled sensitively?
Do the illustrations, where used, avoid stereotypes?
re the illustrations, where used, appropriate to the text?
When metaphors are used, is the book aimed at older age groups, who are more able to grasp the meaning of the abstraction?
Is death portrayed as only happening to old people?
Are the emotions present in the death/grief process shown in an understanding light?
Are support networks, e.g. parents, friends, counsellors, teachers, shown to help?
Is death portrayed as a natural event?

Children up to the age of 5 years do not view death or loss as permanent. Rather they look upon it as a temporary absence, or that dead people live on under changed circumstances. Children's perceptions of death are often influenced by the deaths they see represented in the media, especially in cartoons where characters, such as Wylie E. Coyote, bounce back to life after fatal accidents. Children often use magical thinking which means that they can believe that they caused the death through their actions, for example telling the person to go away.

Children aged 5-7 years old tend to personify death in some way, like the Grim Reaper. Although they know that there is a definite difference between life and death, there is also the fantasy that death can be avoided, and it is not a universal experience. Death can only take the old and sick who are unable to escape it.

Children aged 7-12 years old are beginning to develop an adult perception of death, that death is final, permanent, universal and inevitable. This can cause increased anxiety in some children and a preoccupation with being abandoned.

Adolescents and teenagers in this age group have a more adult understanding of death. This, however, is complicated by the fact that they are beginning to establish their own identity apart from the family. If a death occurs in the family during this period the teenager will usually be torn between clinging to their family or to their friends. They will often use friends as their first choice for support. Teenagers need to fit within their peer group and have difficulty with anything that makes them different, such as the death of a parent.

In most cases a grieving child will also mean a grieving adult.
Also, grieving children can be found in many classrooms. With these facts in mind the books selected for adults are written either for professionals or for parents and family.

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