Picturing Death: Death and Grief in Children’s Picture Books

Presenter and Advisor Information

Alexis Obert, Illinois Wesleyan University

Submission Type

Event

Faculty Advisor

Molly Robey

Expected Graduation Date

2019

Location

Room E104, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University

Start Date

4-13-2019 10:00 AM

End Date

4-13-2019 11:00 AM

Disciplines

Education

Abstract

For my project, I am analyzing the representation of death in children’s picture books. The overall argument of my project is that by tracing the history of picture books and looking at the psychology of how children cope with death, it is clear to see that using picture books to discuss death is an effective method that is beneficial to children. The first section of my paper traces the history of picture books, detailing when they first become a mainstream genre and when topics such as death began appearing in them. The second section gives context by summarizing the books that I have chosen to examine. Ida, always, written by Caron Levis, discusses death by using polar bears and calming artwork. Cry, Heart, But Never Break, written by Glenn Ringtved, imagines Death as a comforting character and uses sketch-style artwork. Death Is Stupid, written by Anastasia Higginbotham, talks about the messy and hurtful reality of death, using found objects to create pictures. In the third and final section of this paper, I analyze the stories and the artwork in order to discover through what means picture books are effective at conveying death appropriately.

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Apr 13th, 10:00 AM Apr 13th, 11:00 AM

Picturing Death: Death and Grief in Children’s Picture Books

Room E104, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University

For my project, I am analyzing the representation of death in children’s picture books. The overall argument of my project is that by tracing the history of picture books and looking at the psychology of how children cope with death, it is clear to see that using picture books to discuss death is an effective method that is beneficial to children. The first section of my paper traces the history of picture books, detailing when they first become a mainstream genre and when topics such as death began appearing in them. The second section gives context by summarizing the books that I have chosen to examine. Ida, always, written by Caron Levis, discusses death by using polar bears and calming artwork. Cry, Heart, But Never Break, written by Glenn Ringtved, imagines Death as a comforting character and uses sketch-style artwork. Death Is Stupid, written by Anastasia Higginbotham, talks about the messy and hurtful reality of death, using found objects to create pictures. In the third and final section of this paper, I analyze the stories and the artwork in order to discover through what means picture books are effective at conveying death appropriately.