Explaining Death to Small Children: I Miss You by Pat Thomas & What's Heaven? by Maria Shriver

We just lost my dear aunt last month to cancer. She was very close to us, and even babysat Ricky for the last year and a half when I started working part-time. So Ricky was pretty close to her. I wasn't quite sure how to explain death to him - he just turned 4 - and with all the craziness, my mother-in-law was sweet enough to pick out some books about death and mail them to me to read to Ricky.

I Miss You: A First Look at Death by Pat Thomas is a great book for kids ages 2-6. It was the perfect book for Ricky - short, sweet, and had loads of pictures. It reaffirmed what he was experiencing: loving someone, not seeing them anymore, and missing them. At a very high level it mentions how everyone is born and everyone dies, how you attend a funeral, and the feelings a child may have when losing someone. The loved one in the book was an older female - could be a grandmother or an aunt, but obviously everything in the book is applicable to losing any kind of loved one. It acknowledges that cultures deal with death in various ways and it does not focus on any specific religious belief. I strongly recommend this book for little kids who lose someone they love.

I felt that What's Heaven? by Maria Shriver was above Ricky's head. It is more appropriate for a 6-8 year old audience. It is long, very descriptive, and you need a really good attention span to benefit from it. Also - with the heaven thing - it's pretty Christian. We only got to page 2 and Ricky was already asking to read something else. Maybe if he were a little older, things would have been different. In any case, this book will be useful when he is older and has questions about death and heaven.

In any case, it's great to have books to address all kinds of things - from potty training to death. My parents never read me any books to explain anything - other than puberty!

Roar of a Snore by Marsha Diane Arnold, Pictures by Pierre Scott

This is the story of the Huffle family and their pursuit of the person or animal responsible for a huge snore that keeps them awake. The story has repetition as each family member joins in the search.

It's a cute story and the pictures suit the story very well. It's funny to see who the culprit is in the end.

2007

David Goes To School by David Shannon

To be honest, I stayed away from the David books when I saw them at the bookstore because I was afraid they would give my son some bad ideas on how to behave. But a few weeks ago Ricky told me that his teacher read a David book during library time so I relented. I ordered this book with his Scholastic book order.

In this book, David does all the things you shouldn't be doing at school - is late, won't sit down, chews gum, won't keep his hands to himself, you name it. At the end he does a good job with his punishment so he's "good" and is allowed to go home. That's the entire plot. This book is based on a book the author wrote as a young boy - with David and no as the only words he could spell - showing all kinds of naughty things David is doing.

I do like the illustrations though. I see the humor in the book. Ricky always says that David is a bad boy.

Maybe a Bear Ate It! by Robie H. Harris; Illustrated by Michael Emberley

This book is about a dog/cat (I can't tell what the heck it is) who reads a book in bed, dozes off, and somehow loses the book. It goes through all these possibilities as to what may have happened to the book- "maybe a bear ate it, maybe a stegasaurus stomped on it, etc."

I think Ricky will enjoy this book because the story line is funny and something he can relate to as he is always asking me where this toy and that toy went - but also because the illustrations are so cute. I hate using "cute" all the time but there really is no other word that best describes these pictures.

This book would be good for 2-3 year olds. It may be too babyish beyond 3.

Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray

When Ricky received this book for Christmas a few years ago I had to admit I was skeptical. But I loosened up and now that he is three, he actually asks for this book by name. He laughs and thinks it's hilarious. So if he is happy before bedtime, then the book is fine with me.

This is the story of Walter, a dog who has a farting problem. The kids love him but their parents aren't so sure because his farts are so stinky. But Walter turns out to be a good dog to have because one night, burglars break into the house and Walter saves the day by farting all over them.

There is also a sequel to this book which I will blog about at a later time. This is an instance when I actually changed my mind about a book. I thought it was a grotesque story - farting is so crude. But I guess little boys eat it all up!!

Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

I just had to blog about this book because I've read it to Ricky every night for the last 5 nights per his request.

This is the story about a monster named Leonardo who is not very good at being a monster. He isn't scary, doesn't have thousands of teeth, and isn't big. He meets a boy named Sam and is unsuccesful at scaring him so just decides they will be friends.

Very cute story. I liked the illustrations as well. This is a good book because it diffuses all the notions about monsters - kind of like Sesame Street does. I had to return it today because it was due but may need to purchase for Ricky afterall.

What Do Wheels Do All Day? By April Jones Prince, Illustrated by Giles LaRoche

This book is interesting because it shows wheels on all kinds of vehicles (cars, trucks) , construction uses, and everyday uses (shopping carts, skateboards, etc.). This is good for also reinforcing shapes. There isn't much of a story - but the point is that it shows wheels being used in all kinds of scenarios - for pulling, pushing, and carrying loads.

This is a repeat request at bedtime. Too bad I had to return it today because I reached my renewal limit!!