Death and Bereavement:   Books for Children and Their Caregivers

Books for Children:

Always and Forever
by Alan Durant
A family of forest animals learns to cope with the death of a loved one.   ( jPB)

Badger’s Parting Gifts
by Susan Varley
Badger’s friends are sad when he dies, but they treasure the legacies he left them.   ( jPB)   (Also on video)

Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul: 101 Stories of Courage, Hope, and Laughter
compiled by Jack Canfield et al.
A collection of short stories, anecdotes, poems, and cartoons that present a positive outlook on life. ( j158.1 Canfield)

A Dog Like Jack
by Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan
After a long life of chasing squirrels, licking ice cream cones, and loving his adoptive family, an old dog comes to the end of his days.   ( jPB)

Don’t Despair on Thursdays!   The Children’s Grief-Management Book
by Adolph Moser
How to deal with feelings of grief when people or pets die, or when friends move away.   ( j155.9 Moser)

The Fall of Freddie the Leaf
by Leo Buscaglia
As Freddie experiences the changing seasons, he learns about the delicate balance between life and death.  (jPB)

A Gift for Tia
by Karen T. Taha
Little Carmela is close to her elderly neighbor and saddened by her illness and death, but she finds a way to express her love when Tía Rosa's grandchild is born.   ( jPB)

Goodbye Mousie
by Robie H. Harris
A boy grieves for is dead pet mousie, helps to bury him, and begins to come to terms with his loss.   ( jPB)

Good-bye, Vivi!
by Antonie Schneider
When Granny's beloved canary Vivi dies, the family comes to accept it, as well as the idea that some day they will lose Granny as well.   ( jPB)

The Grandad Tree
by Trish Cooke
The changing nature of their apple tree, as it grows and goes through the seasons, reminds Leigh and Vin of their grandfather, who is gone but lives on in their memories.   ( jPB)

The Grieving Teen: A Guide for Teenagers and Their Friends
by Helen Fitzgerald   (YA 155.937 Fitzgerald)

Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas
by Alan D. Wolfelt
Simple tips for understanding and expressing your grief.   (YA 155.937 Wolfelt)

The Hickory Chair
by Lisa Rowe Fraustino
A blind boy tells of his warm relationship with his grandmother and the gift she left for him after her death. (jPB)

How It Feels When a Parent Dies
by Jill Krementz
Eighteen young people ranging from seven to sixteen discuss the questions, fears, and bereavement they experienced when one of their parents died.   (155.937.K92)

Jim’s Dog Muffins
by Miriam Cohen
When Jim’s dog is killed, the other first graders experience with him his natural reactions to death.    ( jPB)

Lifetimes: A Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children
by Bryan Mellonie
Explains about beginnings and endings, and about the living in between.   ( jPB)

Losing Uncle Tim
by MaryKate Jordan
When his beloved Uncle Tim dies of AIDS, Daniel struggles to find reassurance and understanding and finds that his favorite grown-up has left him a legacy of joy and courage.   ( jPB Jordan)

Michael Rosen’s Sad Book
by Michael Rosen
A man tells about all the emotions that accompany his sadness over the death of his son, and how he tries to cope.   ( jPB)

Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
by Tomie dePaola
Four-year-old Tommy enjoys his relationship with both his grandmother and great-grandmother, but eventually learns to face their inevitable deaths.   ( jPB)

Old Pig
by Margaret Wild
Because Old Pig knows that her time to die is near, she puts her affairs in order and takes a slow walk with Granddaughter to savor the beauty for one last time.   ( jPB)

Part of Me Died, Too: Stories of Creative Survival among Bereaved Children and Teenagers
by Virginia Lynn Fry   (YA 155.937 F947pa)

Rudi’s Pond
by Eve Bunting
When a sick boy dies, his friends and classmates remember him by building a schoolyard pond in his memory.   ( jPB Bunting)

Saying Goodbye to Lulu
by Corinne Demas
When her dog Lulu dies, a girl grieves but then continues with her life.   ( jPB Demas)

A Story for Hippo: A Book about Loss
by Simon Puttock
Hippo and Monkey are best friends and when the wise old Hippo dies, Monkey is very sad until Chameleon helps him remember the stories he and Hippo shared.   ( jPB Puttock)

The Tenth Good Thing about Barney
by Judith Viorst
In an attempt to overcome his grief, a boy tries to think of the ten best things about his dead cat.   ( jPB)

Thank You, Grandpa
by Lynn Plourde
On her many walks with her grandfather, a young girl learns to appreciate life and deal with death.   ( jPB)

The Two of Them
by Aliki
Describes the relationship of a grandfather and his granddaughter from her birth to his death.   ( jPB)

Up in Heaven
by Emma Chichester Clark
When Arthur’s dog Daisy dies, she watches over him from heaven and eventually helps him find a new puppy.   ( jPB)

What’s Heaven?
by Maria Shriver
After her great-grandmother’s death, a young girl learns about heaven by asking her mother all kinds of questions.   (j236.24.S561whatshe)

When a Friend Dies:   A Book for Teens About Grieving and Healing
by Marilyn E. Gootman   (YA 155.937 Gootman)

When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death
by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown
Explains in simple language the feelings people may have regarding the death of a loved one and the ways to honor the memory of someone who has died.   (j155.9)

Where Do People Go When They Die?
by Mindy Avra Portnoy
Children ask adults and themselves about death and receive a wide variety of answers.   Includes suggestions for parents.   ( jPB)

The Wishing Tree
by Roseanne Thong
Ming’s wishes at the tree on Lunar New Year with his grandmother always seemed to come true, but one year the tree does not help, and he alone must make peace with the loss of his grandmother and the spirit of the tree.   ( jPB)

You Hold Me and I’ll Hold You
by Jo Carson
When a great-aunt dies, a young child finds comfort in being held and in holding, too.   ( jPB)

Books for Adults Helping Children:

AIDS and the New Orphans: Coping with Death
edited by Barbara O. Dane and Carol Levine   (362.1969792.A)

Bereaved Children and Teens:   A Support Guide for Parents and Professionals
edited by Earl A. Grollman   (155.9.G875)

Children Mourning, Mourning Children
edited by Kenneth J. Doka   ( jPar 155.93 Doka)

Explaining Death to Children
edited by Earl A. Grollman   (155.9)

The Grieving Child: A Parent’s Guide
by Helen Fitzgerald   ( jPar 155.937 Fitzgerald)

Guiding Your Child through Grief
by Mary Ann Emswiler   ( jPar 155.937 Emswiler)

Helping Children Cope with the Loss of a Loved One: A Guide for Grownups
by William C. Kroen   ( jPar 155.93 Kroen)

How Do We Tell the Children ?: A Step-by-Step Guide for Helping Children Two to Teen When Someone Dies   (155.937.S294)

How to Help Children through a Parent’s Serious
by Kathleen McCue   (649.1.M133)

Learning to Say Good-by: When a Parent Dies
by Eda LeShan   (155.9 Leshan)

Living with Grief: Children, Adolescents, and Loss
by Kenneth J. Doka   (155.937083.L785)

On Children and Death: How Children and Their Parents Can and Do Cope with Death
by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross   ( jPar 155.937 Kubler-Ross)

Talking About Death: A Dialogue between Parent and Child
by Earl A. Grollman   (155.937.G875ta)