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What Does Dead Mean?

A Book for Young Children to Help Explain Death and Dying
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Regular price £12.99
Regular price Sale price £12.99
What Does Dead Mean? is a beautifully illustrated book that guides children gently through 17 of the 'big' questions they often ask about death and dying.

Questions such as 'Is being dead like sleeping?', 'Why do people have to die?' and 'Where do dead people go?' are answered simply, truthfully and clearly to help adults explain to children what happens when someone dies. Prompts encourage children to explore the concepts by talking about, drawing or painting what they think or feel about the questions and answers.

Suitable for children aged 4+, this is an ideal book for parents and carers to read with their children, as well as teachers, therapists and counsellors working with young children.
  • Published: Oct 15 2012
  • Pages: 32
  • 217 x 214mm
  • ISBN: 9781849053556
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Press Reviews

  • Youth in Mind

    This practical book is designed to help parents and carers answer some of the difficult questions that children often ask after someone has died. It also gives children the opportunity to explore and discuss their own thoughts and feelings about death, with a caring and supportive adult... This book uses gentle illustrations and easy to read text... A helpful list of websites and organisations offer additional support for children and their families.
  • School Librarian

    Honest, gentle and frank, this book doesn't shy away from difficult areas or try to mask the truth... A reassuring book for young child and adults to share, offering real answers and ways to work through grief, as well as a list of bereavement websites.
  • Juno

    Death is never easy, but looking at this book together might help everyone understand and release their emotions and so move along a path of coping with what has happened.
  • Healthy Books

    This is an excellent and beautifully produced book on the general subject of death, aimed precisely at very young children.
  • IAHPC Newsletter

    This would be a useful book to have tucked away on the shelf in the hospice, to be loaned out from time to time.
  • Linda Goldman, author of Children Also Grieve and Life and Loss: A Guide to Helping Bereaved Children

    Children's questions are a window to their souls and a mirror to their inner thoughts and feelings. This important book allows caring adults to acknowledge and explore these questions with children in a sensitive and informed way. I highly recommend What Does Dead Mean? for anyone who aspires to create a meaningful dialogue with children about death.
  • Gabby Hails-Smith, parent

    At last a book that really answers the questions or fears a child may have about death. I would recommend this to any parent who, like me, wonders how they will support their child through the death of a loved family member, friend, or even pet. I will have it waiting on our shelf and hope that schools will snap it up as a fantastic 'information' book for teachers to use and children to access in the school library.
  • Noel Purdy, Stranmillis University College, Belfast

    NAPCE Journal: Pastoral Care in Education
    This is a truly delightful book which would be an invaluable resource for any adult wishing to support young children through an experience of death.