LITERATURE FOR YOUNG-PEOPLE - NONFICTION BOOKS ABOUT DEATH

Recently there has been a breakthrough in literature for young people that allows issues related to death and suicide to be addressed openly. Interest on the part of publishers, authors, and the public has not abated on these issues. This article presents an overview of the literature available. Authors who have attempted to present nonfiction material about death to children have come to the task from various vantage points: Anthropology, biology, ecology, theology, thanatology, and more. Within the past several years, numerous specialized books have been published, such as books that deal with suicide exclusively or concentrate on the death of a parent. Nonfiction books about death have been in the vanguard in the creation and promotion of new forms of writing for young people. Examples are the use of a dialogue approach as well as the use of journalism techniques and case histories. Exploration of grief and mourning are accomplished in a manner that is both scholarly and compassionate in most of the current nonfiction works. Many authors combine introspection with careful research. © 1979 by Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.