A Monster Calls
Theme: Dealing with Death
The anchor book I choose for this assignment was A Monster Calls. I choose to explore the theme of coping with the grief of losing a loved one. Death is a part of life and affects everyone, including children. The way each person copes with death is different and as teachers learning to help students deal with death is an essential part of their job. Certain children novels and stories can be helpful in explaining the concept of death. Literature can help make this topic easier for teachers to talk about and easier for children to understand.
Challenge
āH Is For Hawkā by Helen McDonald
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āH is For Hawkā is a novel about a young girl losing her father. This novel fits perfectly into my theme because it is a story of one girl’s journey through the grief process. After losing her father, Helen adopts and trains a goshawk. In āA Monster Callsā the reader watches Connor use the monster as his way of dealing with losing his mother to cancer.
āThe Next Placeā by Warren Hanson
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This poetically written childrenās book explores what it is like to deal with a loved one dying from an illness. In āA Monster Callsā the reader watches as the main character Connor deals with losing his mother to cancer. āThe Next Placeā is an illustration books that explains death, dying, and the chronic illness in a elevated, beautifully constructed way that makes this topic easier to talk about and understand for both adults and children.
Just Right
āA Monster Callsā
āInvisible Stringā
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This childrenā book uses a metaphorical string to describe a connection between people and the loved ones they have lost. A story like this can give children a way of using imagination to deal with their grief and sadness.
Easy
āWhen Dinosaurs Dieā
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This childrenās book helps children with the concept of death by explaining certain ideas and fascinations many children have regarding death. This book addresses feelings and emotions associated with death and explains that it is healthy for children to feel the way they do after losing a loved one.
āBadger’s Parting Giftsā
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āBadger’s Parting Giftsā is a story that follows a dying badger. In this book, children can see the badgerās other animal friends mourn his death by celebrating with gifts and memories.