Introduction

I had thought that your death
was a waste and a destruction,
a pain of grief hardly to be endured.
I am only beginning to learn
that your life was a gift and a giving
and a loving left with me.
The desperation of death
destroyed the existence of love,
but the fact of death
cannot destroy what has been given.
I am learning to look at your life again
instead of your death and your departing
From: Pizer, Marjorie. "The Existence of Love" in Marjorie Pizer Selected Poems 1963-1983. Syndey, NSW: Pinchyut Press, 1984, p 78.


About the Bibliography
The books selected for this bibliography deal with death and the grief process. The bibliography focuses on books aimed at children and teenagers, aged 0-16, and non-fiction guides for concerned adults dealing with these groups. The books selected for this bibliography include picture books, sophisticated picture books, fiction and non-fiction for children and teenagers. There is also a section of books for adults, acknowledging that in most cases a grieving child will also mean a grieving adult.
The bibliography was originally created as credit towards the Masters in Library and Information Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, in 1999/2000. 


The importance of bibliotherapy
Books are often helpful when it comes time to talk about something that is difficult. It is easier to address a painful topic when you have already created [a] caring atmosphere and when you have already read the words of authors who have dealt with it in an honest way, and who are not emotionally involved in your personal loss [Fitzgerald, Helen. The grieving child: a parent's guide. Fireside, 1992, p. 45.].

When children listen to a story, they continuously associate what they hear with their own memories. They search to connect their present experience of the story to events from the past [Rowshan, Arthur. Telling tales: how to use stories to help children deal with the challenges of life. One World Publications, 1997, p. 33].

Literature [about death] helps "normalize" loss, acknowledge the reality of loss, diminish the sense of estrangement or alienation that often accompanies loss, and identify, validate, and suggest constructive outlets for strong reactions to loss. Whether fiction or non-fiction, good resources encourage adolescents to learn from the experiences of others and to work out their own solutions to life's challenges [Corr, Charles, A. "Entering into Adolescent Understandings of death" in Bereaved children and teens. Ed. Earl A. Grollman. Beacon Press, 1995, p. 32-33.]

Selection criteria
The books selected usually fulfil traditional literary criteria, unless their popularity calls for their inclusion. 

The literary criteria include: realistic character development; style; and appropriate and realistic plot development. An important factor for inclusion is that the books offer realistic and/or factual information on the death and grief process. The grief process, from disbelief to acceptance and celebration of the life, should be represented in the text whether it is fiction or non-fiction. If the complete process is not shown the path toward acceptance should be clear.

The books selected reinforce the universality of the death and grief process, thus showing children and teenagers that they are not alone. To this end the majority of the books included are of recent publication and set in modern times. This enables a better identification with the characters and situations shown in the book. Some older books, or those with a historical focus, have been included if they offer something which overcomes the problem of distance between the book's time period and today.

The book should answer a majority of the following questions:

• Is the book honest?
• Does it provide accurate information about the reality of death?
• How realistic is the book's emotional impact?
• Is it needlessly frightening or confusing?
• If non-fiction, is the information even-handed and bias avoided?
• Are potentially inflammatory issues handled sensitively?
• Do the illustrations, where used, avoid stereotypes?
• Are the illustrations, where used, appropriate to the text?
• When metaphors are used, is the book aimed at older age groups, who are more able to grasp the meaning of the abstraction?
• Is death portrayed as only happening to old people?
• Are the emotions present in the death/grief process shown in an understanding light?
• Are support networks, e.g. parents, friends, counsellors, teachers, shown to help?
• Is death portrayed as a natural event?

Organisation of the bibliography

The bibliography is organised into five groups according to the age of the targeted reader. Within each group the books are organised in alphabetical order by the author's surname.

Reading and comprehension level, as well as the child's developmental stage, were the major factors used to place the books into age groups. In all cases the age groups should be used as a general guide. Those dealing with an individual child or teenager will have a more thorough understanding of which books are appropriate for that individual and their situation. Some books cross over the age group distinctions. When this has happens the books have been included into both sections.

Each book is annotated with a brief plot summary and other important information. Each annotation includes the bibliographic details of the book sighted by the reviewer. In some cases there are more than one edition available with slightly different details. At the end of each annotations, for books in Age Groups One to Four, are subject headings. The subject headings related to the relationship of the deceased to the child, and to the cause of death.

The subjects Indexed are:

Relationship of deceased to the child:

• Grandparent
• Parent
• Peer (including friends who are older than the child)
• Pet
• Relative (not otherwise indexed)
• Sibling

Cause of death:

• Accident
• AIDS
• Cancer
• Illness (not otherwise indexed)
• Old Age
• Miscarriage and Infant Death (including cot death, and death due to congenital conditions)
• Suicide
• Murder
• Other (not otherwise indexed)