The purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate the portrayal of death in selected fiction books for children. The sample consisted of 90 books which were listed by six authors discussing the appearance of the death theme in children's books. A method of content analysis was applied as the research design, and each book was analyzed on the basis of 13 categories established by the investigator. The following conclusions about death portrayal were drawn: there is a need for more good quality books with death content for children in the preschool and lower elementary age groups; there is a more violent portrayal of death in books for children aged nine and older than for children aged five, six, and eight; and the portrayal of the impact of the death of the main character's parents is handled in a fair and responsible way by the authors of the books in the study. It was also concluded that the death of parents is treated as having more impact on the life of the main character than does the death of friends. (Author/TS)