When Dinosaurs Die
This is an excellent book. I purchased it to read to my almost 4 year old grandson whose "grandpa" died 3 months ago. I particularly enjoyed the way the book starts out with - What Does Alive Mean? and then goes on to explain what it means and also what dead means. The artwork is great and non threatening. This has become a favorite.

Excellent resource
I want to put in a strong vote of confidence for this book, even though some parents have found it too much, too soon. My dad died when my oldest daughter was not quite three; my mom, when she was not quite four. This book was an enormous help in explaining to her what had happened, putting it in terms that were both straightforward and manageable. Kids want to know the facts, because the facts are usually less scary than what a kid can imagine. Also, let's face it, every kid is going to have major issues with death--don't we as adults? If kids ARE given too much information, they will let us know--by facial expression, or changing the subject, or saying they don't want to read the book. If that happens, of course any parent would take the book away. However, I found it a big help.

Helps children deal with death
My eight year old son struggled with the death of an uncle. We found this book at the local library. He read it and then recommended that I read it - "it will help you too, mom." We had to purchase our own copy and got one for our school's guidance office. Great way to remember a loved one and deal with the loss at the same time.

Not a bedtime story...but therapeutic for those who are grieving
This book is not meant as a soothing bedtime story. It is a direct, frank look at death and grief, designed for children who are confronting the death of a loved one. I know that some reviewers were disturbed by the fact that this book covers death by suicide and homicide, but from my position providing counseling in schools, I can say that I have found that to be one of the book's assets, as (unfortunately) I counseling kids who have lost loved ones to suicide and homicide. This book is rather long, partiuclarly because it is written in a comic book type format, with many captions and speech bubbles. I would highly suggest that you do NOT try to read the whole book to a child in one sitting. The book is broken up into sections (How Do People Die? Feelings About Death, etc.), and those are good guidelines for starting/stopping. Read one section and talk. Listen. Answer questions. Draw. And let it be. Try another section later. Don't feel that you have to read all of the sections. Just go with what's relevant for your family. I have found that this is a fabulous book to get kids talking. It's non-threatening. They can choose to identify with the dinosaurs in the book or not. Also, Amazon says this is for ages 4-8. I would say that this is not the best book for the younger set (4-5), and I would extend the upper range to 13 (or even older). Young teens like the comic book style, and because the text does not talk down to its readers, they find the content relevant as well.

Doesn't relate to anything real
I did not enjoy this book and would not use it in my work.