Abstract The children’s day care of Iisalmi town was in a need of an easily accessable story book with the theme of sorrow of death. The aim of the thesis was to write a story book that handles sorrow caused by death in the life of a child aged four to six years. “Simo ja pitkä talvi” story book’s mission is to be a tool in work and it is adressed primary to the staff of early childhood education.

The thesis has two parts: a report and a story book. The report is annexed with a story book, the copyright of which is owned by the author of the book. The report section is based on theoretical bases and the period of the process manufacturing the story book.

The applicant of the thesis is the children`s day care of Iisalmi town and the partner is the circulating special education kindergarten teacher. The story book was delivered to all the 11 kindergartens of Iisalmi town, to family day care-cordinator and to special education.

The story book was delivered to all the 11 kindergartens of Iisalmi town,to family day care-cordinator and to special education. There can be many factors that cause sorrow in life of a child and especially death is such an unfamiliar thing that parents and even professionals of education can find it difficult to talk. Yet it is important that sorrow of a child will not be put to the side, but the child can be helped in his mourning process in early childhood education.

Stories have always had a caring and healing mission. They are used when losses, crisis and traumas are treated especially among children and youths. The content of "Simo ja pitkä talvi" book is based on the theorybases of sorrow and mourning.

Jämsä and Manninen (2000) kowhow and realisation process periods have been used in the realisation process of the book. The process has five periods, which are: regocnition of improvement period, period of ideas, scketching period, elaboration period and finishing period.