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

Best book to answer those questions for my 6 year old. Very clear and literal which is exactly what he needed.

I love the idea of this book It is beautiful illustrated and worded However I bought this to read with my 3 year old, which is fine in my case but if you are trying to shield your kids from the different forms of death, addiction, violence, accidents you may want to look at the " goodbye book" instead which is more geared toward younger kids I personally dont mind this but know some parents may- Very informative and helpful for children struggling with a sudden loss of a parent/relative/friend.

If I’m reading this book, it’s not a great day, but it’s the best book regarding understanding death. I’ve had to use it in many sessions. It also is helpful for adults experiencing grief. I’ve seen it help kiddos age 5-8, as well as a couple adult parents. Should be a staple in every therapy agency that sees kiddos

I hope your child never has to read this but if you have a lost a loved one or have a sick loved one this book is sensitive, thorough, and great for ages 5-9. Younger ages would likely benefit too but it may be too detailed for them. It’s great prep or follow up book when you know someone is slipping or struggling with hard topics like suicide, addiction, illness, auto accidents. It hits all the different things. I really liked that it winds down with the different ways to cope and how siblings may cope differently. Hard topic but great book on life’s lessons. My son is 8 but it’s being shared with a younger 5year old cousin and older 9 and 10yr old cousins.

I think that When Dinosaurs Die does a good job of covering a wide range of potential causes of death: it talks about how some people die after being sick for a long time, some die suddenly, some die accidentally, some are very young, some die as a result of war, others die from drug abuse or suicide. I can see this being a great resource for counselors, or families undergoing a loss that isn't talked about in other types of children's books on death. Our situation was fairly conventional, so when my two-year-old daughter and I read this book, I heavily edited a lot of the parts about suicide, drug abuse, neonatal death, etc. And we touched very lightly on the illustration of the dinosaur who has been run over by a car--it wasn't quite graphic, but was enough to give me pause. But again, if we were facing that sort of situation, then I think the book would be comforting, and would reassure kids that they're not alone. My favorite parts of the book were where it talked about what it means to be alive and what it means to be dead, and how all living things grow and eventually die. It was written in very basic, straightforward language that made the subject less mysterious for kids, and as a parent, it helped me make sure I covered all of the important points. (I had never thought to point out, for example, that dead people don't eat or see or hear anymore, but while reading the book realized that this might not be something that young kids would intuitively grasp.) With its one size fits all approach, this book may be more than you need if your young child is dealing with the sad but conventional death of a grandparent. However, by encompassing so many different kinds of death, this book has something to offer every grieving family.

This book has sections and so you can pick and choose what you want to read at each sitting. Death is a hard topic for adults as well as kids and so gently exposing children to it in smaller bits is nice. I think having the characters be dinosaurs helps give children a safe distance from the topic without losing the reality of human death. This book has chapters on: What does Alive Mean?; Why does someone die?; What does Dead mean?; Feelings about Death; Among Friends; Saying good-bye; Keeping Customs; What Comes after Death; Ways to Remember someone; and a glossary of terms. It is full of helpful content, uses the words "die" and "death" which is important rather than just referring to someone as "gone" or "passed away." This is a very helpful teaching tool!

This book is great. I purchased for my children when their grandfather passed away suddenly, and they seemed quite comforted by the gentle, factual way death was approached in many different scenarios. It touches upon infant death, accidental death, suicide, death from sickness, even death of a beloved pet. The dinosaur illustrations are simple and sweet. Kids can find their own dino to identify with. Although I purchased it out of personal need 10+ years ago, I have gifted it in times of need to friends and family members. It has always been appreciated. My kids often went back to this book to look through, read to themselves, or to have us read to them when they were having some trouble processing grief. I think it helped to validate their feelings, but also helped them to understand that they are not alone.

I think it is great to have literature covering death to help my kids understand more. That said I am the kind of person that just reads the whole book and so some of the topics covered aren’t relevant for our scenario and therefore need to some editing. I.e. I was wasn’t ready to cover suicide or childhood deaths just yet but I guess glad there is content that can be applied to all situations. Overall good book but just read it a few times first and be sure your curious tot isn’t asking you read all the words!

It's a beautiful read. My kids loved it. They could relate the description in the book to their personal loss.

I am a child therapist and this book really describes what goes on when someone dies. The book talks about what happens logistically with funerals etc, how people might feel when someone dies, and gives a child friendly explanation at what happens to the body when someone dies. Really is a great book. It is a little wordy so I perhaps wouldn't recommend for reading with a vey young child.

Best book I've found for explaining death and answering all the questions my 3-year old had. I've seen lots and lots of other books on death and this one is by far my favorite. I even recommend it to families in my home country that don't have English speaking kids as long as the adults can translate. There was a brief mention of people killing each other and of suicide that we weren't ready for my then three year old to hear at the time, and those few words were easily skipped over. This book was exactly what we needed and I'm so grateful we found it.

Good examples and really helped with understanding when a parent is gone

excelente!