When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death (Dino Tales: Life Guides for Families) - Hardcover

Krasny Brown, Laurie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316109177 ISBN 13: 9780316109178

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1996

Synopsis

For over 25 years, families have used When Dinosaurs Die to explain death, dying, and coping with grief and loss -- from the creators of the beloved Dino Tales: Life Guide for Families series, which has sold over 1.5 million copies.

Straightforward and comprehensive, this indispensable book is a comforting aid to help young kids and families through a difficult time in their lives. No one can really understand death, but to children, the passing away of a loved one can be especially perplexing and troublesome. This is true whether the loss is a family member, friend, or pet. Here to offer advice and reassurance are the wise dinosaurs from the bestselling Dino Tale series. This succinct and thorough guide helps dispel the mystery and negative connotations associated with death, providing answers to kids' most-often asked questions.



Topics covered include: What Does Alive Mean? * Why Does Someone Die? * What Does Dead Mean? * Feelings about Death? * Saying Goodbye * Keeping Customs * What Comes After Death? * Ways to Remember Someone




Don't miss these other Dino Tales: Life Guides for Families:

Democracy for Dinosaurs: A Guide for Young Citizens

Dinosaurs Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families

About this title

About the Author

Laurie Krasny Brown is a fine artist as well as an author, parent, and educator with a master's degree from Teachers College, Columbia University and a doctorate in human development from Harvard University. She has written many books for children, including the popular Dino Tales: Life Guides for Families series, which has sold over 1.5 million copies to date.



Marc Brown is the creator of the bestselling Arthur Adventure book series and executive producer of the children's PBS television series Arthur. Laurie and Marc live in New York City and Tisbury, Massachusetts.

Reviews

Aided again by the amiable dinos from Dinosaurs to the Rescue! and Dinosaurs Divorce, the Browns tackle perhaps their toughest subject to date. Using the frank yet reassuring tack employed in the previous books, the author presents a balanced, comprehensive and age-appropriate explanation of why death occurs and other such issues, and suggests sensible, specific tactics for coping with the resulting loneliness, fright and anger. At the same time, she wisely leaves room for a child's individual response, acknowledging that with the death of a loved one, be it a pet or a parent, "there is no right or wrong way to feel." Equally wisely, she defers some explanations to other adults. For example, after an array of dinosaur characters offers different beliefs on what happens after death, she advises readers, "If you have questions about it, ask your family or your religious leader." Marc Brown's typically busy art contains uplifting details and comical asides, yet does not whitewash the subject matter; one particularly wrenching scenario shows a young dino kneeling at her bed, saying, "Please, God, let Daddy be alive again. I want him back." These astute collaborators provide a commendable service for grieving children and the adults in their lives. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In the newest title in their sensible, upbeat self-help series, the Browns (Dinosaurs to the Rescue, 1992, etc.) take on the subject of death. Crowded cartoons plunge right in, with terse explanations of what it means to be living and how death is part of the cycle. Any philosophical bent soon gives way to illustrations showing a hospital patient hooked up to tubes, premature babies too small to survive, and accident victims (complete with EMS vehicles and IVs), as well as loss of life in war, as the result of social problems, and through suicide. Confusing for a picture-book audience may be the juxtaposition, in one spread, of play with a toy gun--``Bang, bang. You're dead''--with a real dead bird. Feeling, funerals, reincarnation, resurrection, sitting shivah--the few things that don't make it into the text (autopsy, wake) can be found in the glossary. The coverage sometimes raises more questions than it answers (a youngster worries about family finances, only to be soothed by a parent), but just as Dinosaurs Divorce (1986) stressed the continuing love between parents and children, this book, too, has at its center a positive message: Grieve, and go on with living. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5^-8. Unlike many books on death for little ones, this one doesn't tell a story. Instead, it addresses children's fears and curiosity head-on, and in a largely secular fashion, by answering some very basic questions: "Why does someone die?" "What does dead mean?" "What comes after death?" Other questions deal with emotions, and there's a section about death customs (the weakest part of the book). The forthright approach makes the subject seem less mysterious and provides kids with plenty to think about and discuss with their parents. It's the brightly colored artwork, however, that will really enable children to relax with the concept. The pictures are filled with homey clutter and familiar detail, and the activities of the appealingly quirky characters (who resemble dinosaurs in only the broadest way) add a strong, comforting sense of what can only be called normalcy. Stephanie Zvirin

Edition details

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0316109177
• ISBN 13: 9780316109178
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Brown Marc
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32