“The Biggest Star” by Jeryn Alise Turner

The Biggest Star by Jeryn Alise Turner is a short children’s book written to help deal with loss. The story is told from the perspective of the departed and walks through common questions and emotions felt by children. Poetry helps to keep a child’s attention and uses a lighter approach to explain a tough subject. The visuals reinforce the words and are generic enough that every child can see themselves in the story. Although fiction, it summarizes the process in an honest way. Grief is hard especially with children so the overall message is one of support; they are reminded they are not alone and life goes on. I wrote this book so parents and adults would have a way to talk to their children when this happens. Sadness, anger and wanting to withdraw are all normal responses to death. Often times in our society there is a rush to create normalcy. This book is meant to change that approach so children are given time to grieve and so they don’t hold in what they are feeling.

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