Children's Books for Grief & Loss
“All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.”
– Karen Blixen
Recommended Children’s Books on Grief and Loss
Maybe Tomorrow: A Story About Loss, Healing, and Friendship
Agell, Charlotte (2019)
A Shelter for Sadness (all ages)
Booth, Anne (2021)
Everywhere, Still: A Book about Loss, Grief, and the Way Love Continues
Clark, M.H (2023)
The heart and the bottle (loss of someone special, helpful around avoidance of feelings)
Jeffers, Oliver (2010)
The Invisible String (can be adapted to all ages and different kinds of losses re: “continuing bonds”)
Karst, Patrice (2000)
Samantha’s Missing Smile
Kaplow, Julie & Pincus, Donna (2007)
EDNA
Paradis, Susan (2012)
Ruby Finds A Worry
Percival, Tom (2021)
The Goodbye Book
Parr, Todd (1998)
The Memory Box: A Book about Grief.
Rowland, Joanna (2017)
The Healing Book: Facing the Death and Celebrating the Life of Someone You Love
Sabin, Ellen (2006)
Tear Soup
Schwiebert, Pat & DeKlyen, Chuck (2007)
Mortimer Loses a Friend
Deregnier, Diana (2012)
Mick Harte Was Here
Park, Barbara (1995)
Someone I Love Died from a Drug Overdose
Ray, Melody (2018)
Badger’s Parting Gifts
Varley, Susan. (1995)
When Someone Dies: A Children’s Mindful How-To Guide on Grief and Loss
by Andrea Dorn, MSW
The Girl Who Cried for the Earth: A Story of Hope, Healing, and Possibilities
by Bodhi Simpson, PhD.
Books for Adults Supporting Grieving Children and Teens
The Journey Through Grief and Loss: Helping Yourself And Your Child When Grief Is Shared
(2009) By Robert Zucker
A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children: Rebuilding Your Family After the Death of a Loved One
(2009) by Phyllis Silverman and Madelyn Kelly
Tear Soup: A Workbook for Grieving Kids
(2022) by Chuck DeKlyen
When Grief Comes Home
by Erin Leigh Nelson, Colleen Montague, LMFT, and Brad Quillen
The Grief Experience: Tools for Acceptance, Resilience, and Connection
by Kelly Daughtery
Resilient Grieving: How to Find Your Way Through Devastating Loss
by Lucy Hone. Ph.D
How to Help Children Through a Parent’s Serious Illness: Supportive practical advice from a leading child life specialist
by Kathleen McCue, MA CCLS
Jade Bird: Singing Grief
by Joan Logghe