Why Do People Die?: Helping Your Child Understand-With Love and Illustrations [Hardcover]

Cynthia MacGregor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999

Grandpa has just died . . . and your child is confused, upset, and bewildered. What is death? Where has Grandpa gone? What will happen now? She turns to you for answers, comfort, and help, but death isn't an easy subject to explain to kids (especially in the three-to-nine-age range), and since you yourself are in emotional pain, it's harder than ever. Yet you know she deserves, and needs, a straightforward, comforting, reassuring answer . . . .

"Why Do People Die?" guides parents through the inevitable questions, emotions, and fears associated with death. Written in a friendly, reassuring tone, and with respect for the beliefs of different religions, this book comforts both parents and children. Understanding the thoughts and worries that plague children, this book offers answers to tough questions like: What is dying?; Is it normal to cry?; What happens at funerals?

Questions about death must come up sooner or later in every family. If it is not a family member who stirs them, it is a neighbor, a friend, or even a pet. "Why Do People Die?" helps to alleviate the pain, stress, and uncertainty that children face.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Reminiscent of Peter Mayle's Where Did I Come From?, this book explains death, its effect on the living, and some of the beliefs, customs, and rituals associated with it.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The passing of a relative or friend can be a bewildering time for children. Why Do People Die? is a poignant, moving, and straight-forward book wherein children will discover answers to their questions when those they love die. Designed to be read aloud to young children, Why Do People Die? is a full-color picture book that delivers information forthrightly, honestly, and in a consoling tone. It answers all the questions children could possibly ask, such as why people die, what happens at a funeral, and why the child feels so sad. A parent who is stuck for words or needs a little help with an explanation will find here a sensitively illustrated text that eases children's minds and brings them comfort and assurance. Cynthia MacGregor's sensitive and informative text is superbly illustrated by David Clark's colorful and engaging illustrations. -- The Children's Bookwatch/The Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Lyle Stuart (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0818405988
• ISBN-13: 978-0818405983
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,533,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in the suburbs of New York, I moved to the city itself as soon as I was old enough to go out on my own, eventually transplanting myself to South Florida. A part of me had always felt I belonged where the warm tropical breezes shake the palm fronds into beckoning motions. They beckoned, and in 1984 I answered, leaving my beloved NY behind. I've since put down roots a mile long.

I have been writing for as long as I can remember - from back when I first learned to spell t-h-e c-a-t. By age 9, I had written a play (admittedly short and childish, but a play nonetheless), which was put on at summer camp, and there were stories and poems too, some of which were printed in such places as the newsletter of the arts program I took part in, and the local weekly paper in the community where I grew up.

My earliest serious aspiration was to be an actress, and I'm still a ham who loves the limelight, but I traded in my theatrical dreams for the writing life decades ago and have no regrets whatsoever.

I am definitely a glass-half-full person, and there is no one in the world I'd want to trade lives with. My life hasn't always been easy - I'm a cancer survivor and have had additional health issues too, as well as other adversities - but it's been a marvelous ride so far, and I hope it just keeps going and going and going. I jump out of bed each morning (normally at 5 AM), eager to start a new day.

My past includes stints as a theatre reviewer and specialty-newspaper publisher, a lot of freelance editing, and a bit of agenting. My first book wasn't published till 1993, but I've made up for the late start and have had over 50 conventional books and another over-50 ebooks published in the time since then, and I'm still going strong. I have NO plan to EVER retire. I absolutely LOVE what I do. Why would I ever want to stop?

My wish for each of you who reads this is that you find your life as fun and as fulfilling as I do.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Talking to Your Child About Death, March 7, 2011

By 

Lucy Adams "If Mama" (Augusta, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Do People Die?: Helping Your Child Understand With Love and Illustrations (Paperback)

It's tough talking to kids about some topics. Death, in particular, gives adults a hard time. We usually put off talking about it until it's a relevant issue in our lives and the lives of our children; until we ourselves are grieving. We put it off because we don't want to burden our children with sad thoughts, we don't want them to worry about such things. As parents, we strive to preserve the innocence of childhood for as long as we can.

But death is a natural part of living. Pets die. People die. If we talk to our children about death, just like we talk to them about the weather and about eating healthy foods and about their day at school, we better prepare them for coping with it. In her book, Why Do People Die?, Cynthia MacGregor helps parents explain death to their children.

Her perceptive analogy comparing toys and clothes wearing out, something any child who has ever had a favorite pair of shoes or doll or t-shirt can understand, to a body wearing out makes the abstract notion of death more concrete. MacGregor also tackles the many emotions a child might experience while grieving and lets the child know that these emotions are acceptable and normal. Excellent iillustrations accompany the text.

Although a very useful tool for parents, the book almost provides too much information in one sitting for a child to absorb. More than simply covering why people die and how we might feel about it, it also discusses funerals, the different kinds and what children can expect to happen before, during and after, and various beliefs about what happens to people after they die.

Nonetheless, Why Do People Die? offers excellent talking points to parents who may have difficulty finding the right words to explain death to their children. It's a great conversation starter between parent and child, letting children know it's okay to ask questions; that death is natural and not a taboo subject.

I recommend that parents read sections of the book with their child at separate sittings, allowing time for the child to process the information. In addition, let your child keep the book to look through on his or her own. Finally, be willing to admit that death is tough for you to talk about, that it makes you feel sad, too, and to engage in even the uncomfortable conversations that may arise from your child pondering the issue of human mortality.

Lucy Adams, author of Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run and If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny