Great Picture Books for Loss

Recently I learned about Bibliotherapy, or an expressive therapy that uses an individual's relationship to the content of books and poetry and other written words as therapy. I think this is at the very foundation of our children's growth into adults. The more they read (and we read to them), the more well-rounded and intelligent adults we hope they will become. This is essentially bibliotherapy, although most may believe it only focuses on life's major events and changes. I believe every one of these topics is essential to creating and nourishing good human beings. Here is a good website for many bibliotherapy topics and related childrens' books: http://www.best-childrens-books.com/bibliotherapy.html

We are fortunate to not have yet had loss and death come too closely to our family, but we are recently familiar with losing a family dog.  We do often find the children asking us about where are Daddy's grandparents or Grandpa's parents?  These questions can only be answered by discussing death and what that means.  



We also have a precocious five year old who says things like,"When I die, I will come back as a baby."  He is a very deep thinker.  He randomly came out with statements like these long before introducing any of these books to him.  It has been very good for him to have a deeper knowledge of death and life.

The finality of never seeing their cousins' dog again was difficult to explain.  It has certainly been interesting with a 2 and a 5 year old (and my nieces and nephews, ages 2-7).  These books have helped both of my kids to somewhat grasp the topic of loss or death at their own level of understanding.  

Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children 
by Bryan Melloni and Robert Ingpen
It begins, "There is a beginning and ending for everything that is alive. In between is living." The book is about the circle of life.  A wonderful, simple way to introduce this subject to young children.  There is even a video on YouTube that reads this book.


Grandma's Gone to Live in the Stars 
by Max Haynes 

Very simple, but wonderful little book told through Grandma's perspective as she says goodbye.

Death in a Nut 
retold by Eric Maddern and illustrated by Paul Hess
A little more abstract and silly book, but it is really about showing kids the importance of being okay with death.  It is based on a Scottish folktale and takes place on a farm.  Beware it has some graphic ideas of how animals may die or be injured.  This is not depicted in the pictures and not really in the text, but some things are implied.  Despite this, I still love this story.

Ghost Wings 
by Barbara M. Joosse and illustrated by Giselle Potter 
A beautiful story about a little girl who loses her grandmother.  This book is of special interest to me because I went to school with the author's daughter.  But it is a wonderful story about holding the memories close to your heart.

Always and Forever 
by Alan Durant, illustrated by Debi Gliori
Another great book about holding onto the special memories.  Told through the perspective of animals: Mole, Hare, Otter and Squirrel.

When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death 
by Laurie Krasny Brown, illustrated by Marc Brown
Not really a story, but attempts to answer some very deep and profound questions.  It may be more well-suited for ages 5 and up, but my nearly-3-year-old has asked many of these questions.  And you know the need answers from their all-knowing parents.  Here are the answers. 


And What Comes After a Thousand 
by Annette Bley
Beautiful, playful illustrations won me over (and I think the kids, too).  But the story is even sweeter.


There are also a number of excellent books specifically about the loss of a pet:

Dog Heaven or Cat Heaven by Cynthia Rylant

Saying Goodbye to Lulu by Corinne Demas

I'll Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm

The Legend of Rainbow Bridge by William N. Britton
The Tenth Best Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst

We love new books at our house - if you love any literature on this topic that didn't make my list, please do share!

Our Absolute Favorite Author/Illustrator

I have always loved books. My entire life I have been fascinated with them, the beauty of them.  I was an advanced reader at a young age and just wouldn't put books down.  I still find myself doing that, although in the past few years it is usually Childrens' Picture books that catch my fancy.  Of course, these do combine two of my favorite things: literature and art.  


Picture books can be truly engaging, educational and beautiful.  My husband and I spend a lot of time reading books to our children, ages 2 and 5.  They in turn spend a lot of time curled up with their favorite books.  Our 5 year old, Greysen, is just grasping basic reading skills, so a whole new world of reading is opening up to him.  Camden, our precocious 2 year old, will rarely sit still, but loves to sit in front of the bookcase and "read" all of the books - her often word-for-word retelling is amazing.


I think books hold an amazing power for children to learn and grow.  Not simply for the language skills, but also the life lessons.  I will try to label all of the books that I post so that the topics covered are easier to access.  My local librarians are incredibly helpful when it's come to finding books on particular topics: sharing, anger, loss, bullying.  I have looked in the past for a website to help me find great books within these topics, but have found none.  If you know of any, please share them here.  


What better way to start this blog than with our favorite author/illustrator, Charles Fuge. This does not cover one particular topic, but we enjoy his books so thoroughly that he must be the first thing that we share.

I believe our first encounter with Charles Fuge was with his book I Know a Rhino.  We happened upon it at the local library and oh what fun!  


"I know a Rhino, We like to take tea, I have two sugars, and Rhino has three"


Very simple rhyming and fun animal illustrations.  That is probably what we love most about Fuge's books.  I don't know a child that doesn't adore animals and his illustrations certainly make the animals adorable.  


Sadly, this book is out of print, but you can find it at the library or in used format (that's where I got our copy).


When I discover an author/illustrator that I love, I enjoy searching out their other literature.  We have found that we like (and subsequently own) nearly everything that Fuge has written/illustrated.  

Bedtime Hullabaloo! is by far our favorite book.  Written by David Conway and illustrated by Charles Fuge, Bedtime Hullabaloo! is just so much darn fun.  While I've read some critics feel that the alliteration and wordplay is uneven, my whole family thinks it is great fun.  


"One night on the silly savannah a ludicrous leopard is leapfrogging to bed..."


Greysen and Camden can recite the whole book (and can tell someone when they've read it incorrectly!).  We plan to share it at a Campfire Stories event at our library this week.


Once again, Fuge's illustrations are playful and amusing images of animals.  

We have read every book on the list below of Fuge's works and loved them all.  His earlier works are not as playful, the animal illustrations are a little more realistic, but still beautiful.   We usually give gifts of books and those pictured here are top choice!

Greysen and Camden's review of all of the above books: "We love the animals and the stories that have stuffed animals.  We love the animals.  We love the animals!"

I tried to label each book as to the main topics or themes covered.  I will likely revisit many of these books in future posts.  

Charles Fuge Illustrated Books
Title	Author	Labels
Whale is Stuck/Whale Gets Stuck	Hayles, Karen	cooperation, problem solving
Flea's Best Friend	Fuge, Charles	dogs
Dinosaurs! : a spot-the-difference puzzle book	Parker, Steve	puzzle
Sam's Sneaker Search	O'Brien, Claire	lost, found, shoes
My dad!	Fuge, Charles	dad, father
It's a Monster Party!	Pym, Tasha	differences, new friends
I Know a Rhino	Fuge, Charles	bedtime, animals, rhyme
Trumpet: the little elephant with a big temper	Clarke, Jane	temper, tantrum, anger
I Love It When You Smile	McBratney, Sam	bad day, bad mood, smiling
Yes We Can!	McBratney, Sam	individuality, friendship
This is the Way	Fuge, Charles	animal sounds, animal actions
Yip!Snap!Yap!	Fuge, Charles	sounds
Astonishing Animal ABC	Fuge, Charles	ABC, alphabet, animals
Bedtime Hullabaloo	Conway, David	bedtime
Three Little Dinosaurs	Fuge, Charles	flight, dinosaurs, friends
Wombat Series:
Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball	Churchill, Vicki	favorite things, bedtime
Found You, Little Womat!	McAllister, Angela	getting lost, being found
Swim, Little Wombat, Swim!	Fuge, Charles	making new friends, differences
Where To, Little Wombat!	Fuge, Charles	adventure, home
The Adventures of Little Wombat	multiple	(includes the first four books)
Watch Out, Little Wombat!	Fuge, Charles	imagination, monsters
Gilbert Series:
Gilbert the Great	Clarke, Jane	loss, making new friends
Gilbert in Deep	Clarke, Jane	fearless, danger, adventure
Gilbert the Hero	Clarke, Jane	baby, brother