Dear teacher,
I have made an outline of ten books that all consist of the same topic. The topic that I have chosen is death. I chose this topic because as a child I wish I knew the meaning of death. Instead of learning what it meant by reading, I learned the hard way by having to attend three funerals in two years at the age of 13 and 14. Death is a topic that can be very difficult to teach because it can hard for children to understand but it can quickly become a reality for some people, which is why I believe it’s an important concept for children to learn. The ten books I picked out consist of four picture books, three children’s novels, one nonfiction text and two graphic novels.
For the picture books, the first book I chose was The Goodbye Book. This book by Todd Parr talks about the emotions that children might feel when dealing with death and saying goodbye. He writes that one will eventually begin to feel better and teaches children the struggle of having to say goodbye. The next book in this series is Ida, Always by Caron Lewis and Charles Santoso. This book is about a friendship that lives on after the passing of one friend. This book teaches children that loved one’s can live on in their hearts and their spirit and presence will never cease to exist. The next book is Life and I: A Story About Death by Elisabeth Helland Larsen. In this story, Death is portrayed as a teal-colored girl that shares her stories of visits with all living things. She also teaches about love and how it never dies. This book teaches children that life is followed by death. The final book in this series is The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown. This book is about a group of children that find a dead bird, bury him in the woods and decorate his plot. This book teaches children of the traditions and rituals that surround death.
The next series of books are the Children’s novel. The first book is A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. This book teaches children the struggle of grief through the story of Conor and the monster yew tree that awakens at 12:07. The next book is The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand. This story is about young girl that begins to put the pieces of her life back together after her brother killed himself. The final book in this series is Through The Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko. This book is about a family that loses their five-year-old daughter to an asthma attack five days before Christmas. How do you move on?
The next book I’ve chosen is nonfiction, it’s titled Things I’ve Learned From Dying by David R. Dow. This book tells the very real story of Dow’s father-in-law who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and struggles the family faces. The next two books I’ve chosen are graphic novels. The first is Don’t go Where I Can’t follow by Anders Nilsen which tells the story of Nilsen’s fiancée who is diagnosed with cancer with a high probability of surviving, only to pass away seven month later. The final book is The Hospital Suite by John Porcellino. This book is about a man dealing with an intestinal disorder that comes to face the reality of his death.
All of these stories are about the hardship of loss and moving on. I believe that this subject is can be a sensitive one to teach, but with these books children between the ages of 5-13 will be able to grasp the concept and understand the meaning of death.
Sincerely,
Cooper James
