Children's perceptions of death: A look at the appropriateness of selected picture books

The authors review children's exposure to and perceptions of death to determine what an adult's role might be in interacting with children who have experienced death. They suggest that role might be to facilitate the development of children's understanding by selecting materials that present death in a manner appropriate to the children's level of perception and that encourage subsequent levels of perception. Six picture books, representative of available materials, are evaluated in terms of their appropriateness for dealing with the concept of death.