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Mills, Claudia. Dinah Forever. New York, N.Y.: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1995.
Dinah wonders why life is worth living when the sun is going to die in five billion years. Dinah comes to realise that there really will be life without her, and that she will not live forever. One of her best friends, Mrs Briscoe, dies at 83. Dinah grieves for her loss, but remembers that Mrs Briscoe loved life and lived it to the fullest.
PEER OLD AGE
Nystrom, Carolyn, illustrated by Annabel Large. Emma Says Goodbye: a Child's Guide: Bereavement. Oxford, U.K.: Lion, 1990.
Emma and her Auntie Sue have always been good friends, but now Auntie Sue is dying of cancer. Auntie Sue's chemotherapy works for a while, but soon she relapses. Emma finally acknowledges that Auntie Sue is going to die, and talks to Auntie Sue about her death, and her anger at God and everything that has made Auntie Sue sick. She also tells her she loves her. Auntie Sue's family is all around her when she dies at home. Emma works through her grief and memorialises Auntie Sue in the quilt she and Auntie Sue were making together. A solid Christian introduction to bereavement.
RELATIVE CANCER
Paterson, Katherine, illustrated by Donna Diamond. Bridge to Terabithia. London, U.K.: Victor Gollancz, 1978.
Jess and Leslie are neighbours and best friends. Leslie decides to create an imaginary world, Terabithia, in which she is Queen and Jess is King. On the one day Jess is not with her Leslie drowns on the way to Terabithia. Jess's grief shows itself in anger, mainly at Leslie for leaving him. Jess's recovery begins when he introduces his younger sister, May Belle, into Terabithia.
PEER ACCIDENT
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Paterson, Katherine. Flip-Flop Girl. New York, N.Y.: Lodestar Books, 1994.
Vinnie misses her father, in her anger at his death she said nasty things to her little brother, who now refuses to speak. In order to make a fresh start, with their limited budget, Vinnie's family moves in with her step-grandmother. Vinnie goes to a new school, and creates an ideal in her teacher, who replaces her father. Vinnie establishes an antagonistic relationship with Lupe, who wears flip-flops (jandals). Eventually Vinnie acts on the memories of her father and repairs her relationships.PARENT ILLNESS
Renée. I Have to Go Home. Auckland, N.Z.: Puffin, 1997.
New Zealand
Sweet Pea is 12 when her parents die in a car accident which leaves her with a broken leg. Once she is released from hospital she moves to Dunedin to live with her grandmother. Sweet is convinced that she can return home to establish a life as close to her old one as possible. Her plans, however, do not work out, and she has to stay with her grandmother. In the process she begins to accept more fully the deaths and the changes they have made for her. The book is written in the first person, allowing an intimate look into Sweet's thoughts and emotions. The final path to healing and closure for both Sweet and her grandmother is a visit to the driver of the car which hit theirs.
PARENT ACCIDENT
Slepian, Jan. The Broccoli Tapes. New York, N.Y.: Philomel Books, 1988.
Sara is sending tapes to her class back in Boston while her family is spending a few months in Hawaii. Sara tells of her, and her brother's, rescue of a wild cat. During this time their grandmother is dying, but their parents are avoiding them. Their aunt and uncle come to stay, with their aunt being honest about their grandmother's condition. After their grandmother's death Sara and Dane's parents, their mother especially, re-connect with them, although there are moments of intense grief.
GRANDPARENT CANCER
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Sprung, Barbara. Death (Pre-Teen Pressures). Austin, Tex.: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1998.
Discussion and advice are interspersed with accounts of children's experiences of death. Chapters are headed: The End of a Long Life; The Death of a Parent; Sudden Death; Suicide; Feeling Grief; Coping with Death. The information is basic and straightforward.
NON-FICTION
Tonkin, Lois. Everybody Hurts Sometimes: a Book about Grief for Children and Teenagers. Christchurch, N.Z.: Port Hills Press, 1997.
This book is also recommended for the 12-16 Age Group.
New Zealand
This book discusses grief and all its manifestations, including: numbness; regret; anger; fear; feeling normal. It also discusses coping mechanisms. Simple text adequately describes the messages and information the author wishes to convey.
NON-FICTION
Walker, Alice, illustrated by Catherine Deeter. To Hell with Dying. San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988.
Based upon one of Alice Walker's true experiences, this book tells the story of Mr Sweet, a neighbour who periodically "dies" when things get too much. Alice spends her life with the belief that she, and her siblings, hold the power over death, having saved Mr Sweet many times. Eventually, when she is 24, she cannot save him one last time.
PEER OLD AGE
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