Death in Children's Literature: A Conceptual Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the concept of death in children's literature. From a sample of forty children's books on death, the concept of death was classified and elucidated, utilizing relevant literature in philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Death was viewed most often as temporary; it was also treated as an inevitable event. No book considered death as the termination of all existence. The effects of death are considered in several children's books. There was similarity between the relevant literature and the sampled children's literature: both expressed a strong tendency to appraise death in the context of ongoing existence.