Books for Little Hands: themes in picture books

I recently showed a friend a book called, 'My Gran is Different,' about a Grandmother who has Alzheimers. My friend asked me, 'Who would buy their child a depressing book like that?'
My reply was, 'People that have a family member or friend going through this experience.' I understand that this book doesn't leave a warm and fuzzy feeling and is incredibly sad, but life isn't always warm and fuzzy.

I've been thinking about picture books with serious themes and why they're important for children. I admit that I'm one of those parents that will often try and avoid my children feeling discomfort and try and smooth things over but I've learnt over time, that I could be making things worse. As parents we aren't always going to be there with band aids, to prevent falls, to stop injustice, to prevent death, to cure illness, and to stop marriages falling apart.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the warm and fuzzy stories that are fun and for pure entertainment, but I don't think it does children any favours by eliminating stories that show characters in trouble. If anything, this is what makes a great story. A character with conflict who solves their problems and comes out the other end feeling strong and resilient.

Already this year, people worldwide have experienced the unthinkable. From natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear catastrophes, flash flooding, and death amongst our soldiers and police force and not forgetting the personal tragedies amongst people that you'll never know. Within those stories are happy stories, miracles, compassion, and examples of the fighting human spirit.

So, is it realistic to shelter children from these important subjects?

I believe that by sharing books with a range of themes, that you allow children to develop not only a love of reading books, but an insight into real life experiences.

Here is a list of some picture books that touch on serious themes:

Death/Dying

Fred Stays With Me Nancy Coffelt

The Sound of The Sea Jacqueline Harvey/Warren Crossetts

The Heart And The Bottle Oliver Jeffers