Since welcoming children back into my classroom, I’ve found that many want to discuss the pandemic, and its impact on the world, with a trusted adult outside of their home. 

During the coronavirus pandemic, many children will have experienced the loss of a loved one. These children will need individual support and the charity Winston’s Wish provides teachers with free training, resources and support for children who have experienced bereavement. 

It is important, though, that we discuss issues with a whole class, and picturebooks can be a powerful way to do that. They can facilitate discussion and give children the space to express legitimate worries.

Coronavirus: How picturebooks can help in talking to pupils about death

Children learn early on that death is a taboo subject, often from the reaction of adults around them. We can’t, and shouldn’t, shield children from these issues, so we need to help them acquire the language and tools to cope with them.

Picturebooks will allow children to discuss this difficult topic without talking about personal experiences, though many will wish to. The visual storytelling in each of these books also provides children with a deeper understanding of what it feels like to lose someone we love dearly.

How to support children with grief - a webinar

Here are the four books I think work best. 

1. Michael Rosen’s Sad Book by Michael Rosen

An honest and open account of grief and the all-consuming feelings of sadness that accompany it, based on the author’s own experiences. This beautifully written book shows us how someone copes with grief, and helps us to realise that grief will not disappear one day but will become a manageable part of life. Quentin Blake’s illustrations, which capture the heartbreaking look of sadness and grief, allow children to go on that difficult journey with the author. 

2. The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

This is an exploration of how disorientating grief can be for a young mind. A little girl is shown the world by her father, or father figure, until one day he is no longer there. Unable to cope, she places her heart in a bottle and ties it around her neck. It is not until she has her own child that she is open to the joy and curiosity of the world again. A beautiful book that helps children to understand that in order to experience the joys of life, we must also allow ourselves to feel pain and loss.

3. The Memory Tree by Britta Teckentrup

Fox lies down in the snow and passes away. The other animals in the forest each recount happy memories of Fox. As they do, a beautiful orange plant starts to grow in the place where Fox died. This is an excellent book to help us reflect on what we love and miss about those who have died and a reminder that death is a natural part of life.

4. Duck, Death and the Tulip by Wolf Erlbruch

Reflective of a more direct approach to conversations about death, not often seen in this country, this book tells the simple and poetic story of Duck preparing itself for the end of its life through discussions with Death. Having used this book with many different primary school classes, it is clear that children welcome how frank and open this story is on a subject they rarely get to discuss.

Jessica Bowerman is assistant head in a primary school in South London