What Happens When a Loved One Dies? Our First Talk About Death

In this second book in the Just Enough series, after 2015’s Where Do Babies Come From?, Roberts, a child psychologist, looks to the other end of a lifespan. Three children of different ethnicities, each with a recent death in their lives, appear in rotation, asking simple questions about dying, which Roberts answers in a gentle but straightforward manner: “Death means that a living thing is no longer alive. A tree full of leaves and blossoms is alive. An old tree that has fallen over in the forest is no longer alive. It is dead.” The conversation flows organically, in the same way that a parent’s dialogue with a child might, as Roberts touches on topics that include human death, funerals, the afterlife, and grief. Roberts tends to keep the answers general, allowing families to personalize discussions to their own traditions and beliefs. Revell’s smudgy, brightly colored illustrations provide a friendly, reassuring backdrop for the big questions being discussed. Ages 3–6. (Apr.)