Death & Symbolism in everyday life

Significance of religious imagery in understanding of death

Importance of religious culture in art

metaphors/allegories for death on graves

Exploring topics of death

Anthropomorphic Death in Children's Books Analysis

Memento Mori

Käthe Kollwitz

Death takes hold of children, 1934

Edvard Munch

Death at the helm, 1893

Frida Kahlo

Hans Memling

Hans Holbein

The Dream (The Bed) 1940

Triptych of Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation, 1485

Death and the Abbot, 1538

Death on the street, 1923

Death and girl, 1915

Death and life, 1915

Death and the Miser, 1490 - 1516

Death and girl, 1999

Self Portrait with Dancing Death, 1917 - 1918

Art and Death:

Caduff, C. (2021) Sterben und Tod öffentlich gestalten : Neue Praktiken und Diskurse in Literatur, Kunst, Film und Internet 2010-2020. Paderborn: Brill | Fink.
Charles, V. (2015) Tod und Jenseits in der Kunst. New York :: Parkstone International.
Dinzelbacher, P. (1996) Angst im Mittelalter: Teufels-, Todes- und Gotteserfahrung: Mentalitätsgeschichte und Ikonographie. Paderborn ; München [u.a.]: Schöningh.
Grén, R. (2024) Art historical perspectives on the portrayal of animal death : 1550-1950. New York, NY: Routledge.
Llewellyn, R. et al. (2017) ‘Employing imaginative rationality: using metaphor when discussing death’, Medical humanities, 43(1), pp. 71–72. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2016-011014.
Oosterwijk, S. and Knöll, S.A. (2011) Mixed metaphors : the Danse Macabre in medieval and early modern Europe. 1st ed. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK :: Cambridge Scholars.
Riedl, K. (2019) Der Tod reicht allen die Hand - Totentänze des Mittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit.
Turner, S. et al. (2022) ‘Metaphors that shape parents’ perceptions of effective communication with healthcare practitioners following child death: a qualitative UK study’, BMJ open, 12(1), pp. e054991–e054991. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054991.
Xu, J. (2023) From Avoidance to Healing: the Portrayal of Death in Contemporary Children's Literature. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

Children’s books & children’s psyche

Anderman, E. (2019) ‘Serialization, Illustration, and the Art of Sensation’, Victorian periodicals review, 52(1), pp. 27–56. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1353/vpr.2019.0001.
Bartol, M.P. (2024) ‘The Expression of Sadness in Modern Picture Books’, Primerjalna književnost, 47(1), pp. 131–144. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3986/pkn.v47.i1.08.
Fazeli, S. (2021) Exploring Wellbeing in Picture Books for Children with Cancer: A Content Analysis. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
Grafl, M.S.M. (2012) Der Tod des Vaters im Kindesalter : eine Analyse von Kinderbüchern zum Thema Tod.
Gratzl, B. (2013) Tod und Sterben in Kinder- und Jugendliteratur : interdisziplinäre Zugänge und mögliche Didaktisierung.
Hathaway, W.L. (2007) ‘Grief Counseling With Children and Adolescents: A One-Stop Shop?’, PsycCritiques, 52(15), p. No Pagination Specified–No Pagination Specified. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0007211.
Hinds, J.D. (2023) "That's How I Feel!" Visual books help teens grapple with emotions and mental health, School Library Journal. New York: Library Journals, LLC, p. 38.
Iordanou, C. and Mattock, K. (2022) ‘Where the Wild Things Are: understanding of emotions in a picture book’, Education 3-13, 50(5), pp. 627–639. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2021.1882526.
Kirisits, J. (2014) Der Tod im Kinderbuch : die Darstellung von Sterben und Tod in ausgewählten Bilderbüchern.
Kolencik, P.L. and Bernadowski, C. (2007) Teaching with books that heal : authentic literature and literacy strategies to help children cope with everyday problems. Columbus, Ohio :: Linworth Publishing, Inc.
Li, S. (2022) ‘Preschool Education Students’ Understanding of Children’s Picture Books’, Wireless communications and mobile computing, 2022, pp. 1–7. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/9697874.
Longbottom, S. and Slaughter, V. (2018) ‘Sources of children's knowledge about death and dying’, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences, 373(1754), pp. 20170267–20170267. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0267.
Osvath, C. (2021) ‘Uncovering Death: A Dialogic, Aesthetic Engagement with the Covers of Death-Themed Picture Books’, Children's literature in education, 52(1), pp. 68–87. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-020-09399-5.
Pantaleo, S. (2023) ‘The meaning-making in kindergarten children’s visual narrative compositions’, Journal of early childhood literacy, p. 146879842311611. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/14687984231161114.
Sanchez, B. (2024) ‘Managing Children’s Services: Leadership Lessons: The Messages Picture Books Bring Us’, Children & libraries, 22(2), p. 36. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.22.2.36.
Schulman, V.M. (2017) ‘'The Books We All Read': The Golden Age of Children's Book Illustration and American Soldiers in the Great War’, The Lion and the unicorn (Brooklyn), 41(2), pp. 204–230. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.2017.0019.
Tomkowiak, I. (2011) ‘"Ich wollte doch nur, dass wir alle zusammen sind": Max und die wilden Kerle im Bilderbuch, Film und Roman’, kjl & m, 63(1), pp. 61–66.
Wiseman, A.M. (2013) ‘Summer’s End and Sad Goodbyes: Children’s Picturebooks About Death and Dying’, Children's literature in education, 44(1), pp. 1–14. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-012-9174-3.

Updated Reading List

Reflection
Before diving into my literary research about the topic of my essay I decided to investigate the broader, more touchable aspects of death first. I went to local graveyards and looked around my hometown to see what kind of understanding we have of death culturally. I looked at children’s graves and observed the differences on how the families decorated their last resting place to keep their memories alive.
I got out my sketchbook and started brainstorming all the different categories my research would entail. Furthermore, I got every possible children’s book I could find about death and grief and found further connections and discrepancies these works share with each other. Through this, as well as the feedback for my last assignment I started to reevaluate may research question and updated my reading list. Now I have a more clear-cut understanding of what my next steps will be and what I have to look for in my literature research.
The idea about creating my “my own” child friendly version of death came after analysing different artists perspective and characterisation of death throughout history. It inspired me to draw some sketches already, however, I soon realised that most of them looked oddly the same, which is why I will wait until I have done more research before trying again.