I Have a Question About Death
Author: Arlen Gaines and Meredith Polsky
Published March 21, 2017
Page Count: 40
I Have a Question about Death: Clear Answers for All Kids, including Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder is written by two social workers who work in hospice care. In the preface it is mentioned that they have worked with “countless families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or other special needs as they grapple with how to process the death of a loved one.” The main story in the book centers around a stick figure that asks questions about death. Each page starts with a question and then tries to give an answer to that question with age appropriate language and ideas.
The book is broken down into three distinctive parts. The first part is the, “complete story,” which is written much like a children’s book. There is stick figure art and usually two to seven sentences on each page. The second part is titled, “short picture story.” It is designed for children who learn best through visual cues and takes the “complete story” and narrows each page down to one sentence and one photo. The third part is designed for adults and therapists and includes tips for using the book with children, how to help children process emotions, and strategies for discussing loss and death with children.
Reading Audience:
Amazon suggests 5 - 11 years old and that seems about right, in my opinion.
Stuff to be aware of:
This is a book on loss so the main stick person in the book has lost someone, but the book doesn’t specify who died. This is likely so the reader can inject any family member or friend they need. There is one page that deals with the question of “what happens after we die.” This page mentions things like, “there isn’t a very good answer” and “different people believe different things, but nobody knows for sure.”
Overall:
This book does a good job approaching the idea that even a structured, routine life will eventually lead to events that will change it. Specifically, everyone will eventually experience loss. The stick character in this book asks just about every question I have ever heard a child ask about death, plus some. The authors do a good job answering these questions from a scientific and biological point of view by using language children can understand. This book was meant to be read together so there will likely be pages that spark other questions or discussions.
There is one question that deals with “what happens after someone dies,” which I mentioned above in The Stuff to Be Aware Of section. I feel comfortable using this book with my children and I would use that page to be a springboard to discuss what the Bible says about what happens to our soul after death. I would also discuss what other people/religions/atheists believe. Some parents may not want to approach this subject. If so you may want to avoid this book or skip that page.
All in all, this is a good tool for parents who find themselves needing to explain death to their child.
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