Books about Death

At least a few times a year I have a teacher or parent come to me asking for a book about death. Usually it is about a pet. These are my go- to books:


I love "the Fall of Freddie the Leaf" for a student who is experiencing a loss. "What is Death" is good for a general question and "When Dinosaurs Die" is valuable because it goes pretty in-depth about how different people process death, cultural practices, and feelings someone might have when they lose someone close to them. I am very happy to see a new book "Piggy in Heaven" about the death of a guinea pig. Usually books about pets dying are about cats or dogs and this fills a void in our collection. I know my students will appreciate it's soothing message and find comfort that we may meet our pets again one day.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anthony, the Great

Image
First of all, don't ever tell me a picture book is "cute". A friend, (who had been on the Caldecott and Newbery Committees) who was the nicest librarian who ever lived, would get so angry when anyone dismissed a picture book as "cute"-- really people there are so many other words. There is so much depth and complexity in children's literature, at least their should be. Even Captain Underpants has a few different layers. Pictures books are a beautiful medium for authors and illustrators to share stories. They build visual literacy, have depth, and connect children to the world around them. Most teacher and parents use picture books as teaching tools with young people. For a book to be successful to me, it has to have a gel between the story and illustrations. It should have a flow between pages and as a whole work. Some of the best have a great theme and they should never patronize young people. That's Children's Literature 101 lesson A. Moving on...
Read more

Because of Mr. Terupt ( teacher's edition)

Image
  I feel kind of silly to say that the reason I read this book was that John Irving said it was good. I picked it up out of a box of  Advance Readers and remembered when it had first come out in the early 2010s. It won the E.B. White Read Aloud award in 2011 and it definitely would make a great read aloud for a seasoned teacher who can tackle some of the big issues mentioned in the book ( prejudice, death of a sibling, students being differently abled, bullying and more).  The author also name drops a lot of fabulous books for kids so the Book Whisperer in me knows students would pick up on that and wonder about and maybe even read things like A Wrinkle in Time and Bridge to Terrebithia. I am glad I read it. And glad I found out the author knew John Irving because he's coached John Irving's s son in wrestling. https://www.google.com/amp/s/thebooknut.com/2011/02/13/10-questions-for-rob-buyea/amp/
Read more

The Wilderness Journal: Guest Post by Jason Gagnon

Image
The Wilderness Journal: 365 Days with the Philokalia Jason A. Gagnon Bringing it back to Earth January 16, 2019 Format: Paperback The Philokalia is a tricky set of books. It is a collection of writings from spiritual Fathers of the Eastern Christian tradition who lived and wrote between the fourth and fifth centuries. It often comes with a warning - "Don't read these without the guidance of a spiritual father!" They were written largely by monks for monks- but still, for a set of books called "Love of the Beautiful" that is strange advice. If these writings are to help the devout on the path to salvation, why do they so often come with a warning? To be fair, flipping through a volume of the Philokalia can sometimes read like the Eastern Christian equivalent of Zen Koans. What is the sound of one hand clapping? Beats me. But what about when St Isaiah the Solitary writes "He who receives no help when. at war should feel no confidence when at peace"? Be...
Read more