My own approach is to be honest in that everyone and everything dies. To me, it truly is part of the cycle of life. My boys both then followed up with more specific questions such as the what ifs and whens of it. Since we never know the answer to these questions, I don't believe in making false promises but do believe in answering as many questions as possible, like if something were to happen to mom and dad, you would go live with x or whatever arrangements you have made. Of course, your own spiritual and religious beliefs are a core part of that explanation too. We have been fortunate (?) that my kids have been exposed to death through more distant relatives and pets prior to losing anyone that they were really close to which I think reduces the "scariness" of the process for them when that day comes.

My children lost their only grandparent when they were 4 and 2. One of the books we read was Maria Shriver's book "What's Heaven".

Another book is written by one of Norton's kindergarten teachers, Kristin Sedell. Several years ago she lost one of her students and wrote a book for young children called "Remembering Sarah". For more information you can go to her website http://www.kirstensedell.com/

Thanks for commenting guys. My friend is taking a little bit of advice from both of you. She even purchased "What's Heaven," saying it's exactly what she was looking for. I'll give you an update when she tells me how it worked out.