Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460-8051, USA.
Omega (Westport). 2010;62(1):51-76. doi: 10.2190/om.62.1.c.
Many parents turn to picture books and storybooks to help explain issues surrounding death and dying to their young children. In addition to dealing with topics such as death, funerals, memories, and grief, a number of the books also mention the concept of heaven and what our loved ones might experience after they die. This article uses qualitative research methods to analyze 49 children's storybooks that touch on the existence of heaven or a spiritual afterlife. Results show that heaven is portrayed in a simplistic fashion, as a place high in the sky with bright lights, angels, and clouds. Even as heaven is presented in a relatively simple way, there are also patterned differences in depictions of the spiritual afterlife depending upon whether the decedent in the book was a family pet, a child, a parent, or a grandparent. The article concludes with a discussion of how these depictions of heaven and the afterlife might help young children cope with death-related grief.
许多家长借助图画书和故事书，向年幼的孩子解释与死亡和临终相关的问题。这些书籍除了涉及死亡、葬礼、记忆和悲伤等主题外，还有一些书提到了天堂的概念，以及我们逝去的亲人在死后可能会经历什么。本文采用定性研究方法，分析了 49 本涉及天堂或来世等精神存在的儿童故事书。研究结果表明，天堂被描绘成一个位于高空、充满明亮灯光、天使和云彩的地方。尽管天堂的描绘相对简单，但根据书中死者是宠物、孩子、父母还是祖父母，来世的精神存在的描述也存在模式上的差异。本文最后讨论了这些天堂和来世的描述如何帮助年幼的孩子应对与死亡相关的悲伤。
