Question by Julie H: Sadly, need recommendation on children’s books dealing with death?
I have a 1st grade student who has a brain tumor and the prognosis is not good. I work in the school library and have had questions asking us what books to recommend on the subject that would help that child and the other children understand. Every day I pray for a miracle for her, but we need to be prepared to deal with what the future may bring. I will be checking with an agency that does grief counseling, but does anybody have recommendations from personal experience? We already have the books “The Next Place” which is beautiful, and also “What is Heaven?” by Maria Shriver. And if you would like to pray for her, the little girl’s name is Maria. Thank you.
Thanks to all. I had more than one “best answer” if it had been an option. Miranda, good luck…I can tell you will be a good teacher. Melanie, excellent suggestions from your son’s experience. FYI: Maria’s website is www.prayersformaria.com and her parents have started a foundation to help others with brain cancer at www.prayersfrommaria.com. Please pray for Maria and others like her, their families, friends and teachers who are trying to understand “why”, and for the doctors & researchers to find a cause/cure for pediatric brain tumors. Thank you for visiting my question and your caring responses…you have all been very helpful.

Best answer:

Answer by miranda2586
Here are a few books. one I have read and there are two I found online.

1.There is a book by Tomie dePaola called “Grandma Upstairs, Grandma Downstairs.” It isn’t about a child dying, but a grandparent. The book tells of memories of Tomie as a child of his grandmother and great-grandmother. They both live in the same house. The grandmother lives downstairs and the great-grandmother stays in a bedroom upstairs in the house. The end explains that both die, and soon after each death he sees a shooting star. He explains in the end that thought they are gone they will always be his “Grandmas Upstairs.”

**It would be good to explain to children that even though people are not with us, they are always in our heart. The memories are always there, and we will always remember them as our loved ones.

2. “What Happens When People Die?”, by Timothy Robinson, and wonderfully illustrated by Dilleen Marsh, helps young children better understand the natural progression of life, death and life after death. Its hard back pages make it the perfect book for even the youngest children who are suffering the loss of a loved one.

3. “What is goodbye?”, by Nikki Grimes, is a poetic story told between two siblings concerning the death of their brother. There’s a progression of time where this brother and sister deal with the onset of the death to the next year. You’ll come away with a better understanding of how children react and deal with a close relative’s death. This book would be an excellent open book discussion to help kids cope. The wonderful illustrations, by Raul Colon, reflect the deep underlying words on the opposite page. This is excellent for all ages!

I hope this helps. I am in college getting my Elementary Education degree. I am in my 3rd year, and know that if I knew Maria, as you do, it would break my heart. Even hearing about it saddens me because when I was in high school a boy a grade above me in school, that I had known basically my whole life, past away after years of struggling with Cancer. I hope and pray that Maria gets her miracle.

-Miranda

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