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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. |
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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.] |
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