When Someone VERY Special Dies, by Marge Heegaard
Sub-Title: Children Can Learn to Cope With Grief
To be illustrated by children
Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780962050206
Publisher: Woodland Press
Published: 1996
Size: approximately 22 x 27 cm
Pages: 32
Book Description:
When Someone VERY Special Dies was designed to teach the basic concepts of death, and to help children understand and express the many feelings they have when someone special dies. Using the art process to express feelings of grief, communication is increased and coping skills are developed as children illustrate their books with their personal story.
This creative book is part of a series called Drawing Out Feelings designed to provide parents, educators and counsellors with an organised approach to helping children cope with grief from family loss and change. Each page contains a statement or question, designed to support children in exploring the grieving process. Children are then invited to draw or otherwise artistically express their own thoughts and feelings about the page's topic in the space provided.
About the Author:
Marge Eaton Heegaard, MA, ATR, LICSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Art Therapist and Certified Grief Counsellor in Minneapolis, MN. She has been a leader in developing support for adults and children using the art process to express feelings of grief.
Reviews:
"When Someone VERY Special Dies is a superbly useful tool to help young people work through their grief ... Highly recommended. A real contribution." - Rabbi Dr Earl A Grollman, Author of Talking About Death: A Dialogue between Parent and Child
"We have found this to be a practical workbook that guides children through a confusing time. Children learn from this book that grief is a normal reaction to loss." - Monty Williams, ACSW, Social Worker, Minneapolis Children's Health Center
"People have neglected children's grief for years, and here we get not only a description of the process, but a potent book for helping children work through their grief." - Christine Ternand, MD, Pediatrician
"I am impressed with the way in which this work involves children so concretely and personally in the grief process. I believe that it has great potential for being helpful to many children who are stunned by the agony of loss." - Lowell O Erdahl, Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
"I have been searching for just such a book to use with grieving children! The concepts are honest and truthful." - Ruth D Meitz, Student Support Teacher, Bloomington Public Schools
"I especially appreciated in the design of this book, the effort to enable a child to convert what has been a profound, passively experienced situation into one in which the child becomes an active participant in pictorially and verbally doing something about it." - Dean J Hempel, MD, Child Psychiatrist, Wilder Child Guidance Center
"A very useful tool for helping children. As an elementary school counselor, I help children cope with their grief and one of the best tools I've found is this book. It has helped the children I've worked with and I highly recommend it. The text is presented in a sensitive way and the art activities encourage the children to talk about their feelings." - Anonymous (from Barnes and Noble)
"Very helpful, enlightening, book.This book deals with a touchy subject without simplifying matters. It really helped my niece deal with a horrible time, just because she was able to express her feelings, and knew she was normal for feeling the way she did." - Anonymous (from Barnes and Noble)
"... Finding this book was truly a blessing. It is done in the very best format for a child, allowing them to draw, write, color -- providing several projects and posing many questions that allow them to express themselves the way children do best --- through their own art and writing. And best of all, it reaffirms constantly what the child NEEDS to hear - nothing you said or did caused this, it is not the fault of yours or anyone else's, but a natural part of life. Beautifully written, incredibly sensitive toward the child's psyche and means of thinking, --- one of the very best books for any child that is suffering from the loss of a beloved and close famiy, friend -- even a pet. It gives them something to hold onto and reflect upon as they grow and age to see how they have evolved from this tragedy. It is a journal, a sketchbook, a workbook, a friend, - a keepsake. Highly recommended, amazing, and very touching." - Michelle Kinslow (from Amazon)
