A bibliography of books dealing with the death of a parent.
The following list is offered as a starting point. All titles were published in the 1990s.
Daddyīs Clibming Tree, by C.S. Adler. Jessica refuses to believe her father is dead and is convinced he must be living at their old house. With this belief she takes her little brother and walks through a state park to their old house where she must finally facer her fatherīs death.
Winter Holding Spring, by Crescent Dragonwagon. With the help of her father, sarah learns to cope with her motherīs death when she realizes that as things end, new things begin, and "that in winter there is the promise of spring."
The Eagle Kite, by Paula Fox. Liamīs father is dying, but he has to do more than deal with his fatherīs approaching death; he has to deal with the fact that his father is dying of AIDS, as well as face the truth about how his father contracted the disease--a truth no one wants to talk about.
The Tower Room, by Ellen Howard. After her motherīs death, Mary Brooke goes to live with her aunt, a teacher. Over time she learns to cope with her motherīs death as well as accept and admit her motherīs shortcomings and faults.
When the Ragman Sings, by Judith Logan Lehne. During the 1920s Dorothea copes with the death of her mother with the help of an old black ragman whom she had previously feared.
Summer Girl, by Deborah Moulton. Tommyīs mother is dying and thirteen-year-old Tommy is sent to live with her father whom she hasnīt seen or spoken to since she was three years old. As she learns to accept and trust her father, she also knows her motherīs death is drawing closer each day.
Flip-Flop Girl, by Katherine Paterson. After the death of her father Vinnie and her younger brother must cope with his death as well as moving to a new home and starting a new school. Vinnieīs little brother chooses to cope in silence which creates even more problems for Vinnie.
Lifeīs a Funny Proposition, Horatio, by Barbara Garland Polikoff. Horatio helps his grandfather deal with the death of his pet dog as he learns to adjust to life following his fatherīs death.
