Suggested books: Death/grief for children 8-12
General
The Saddest Time
by Norma Simon
Whitman and Co., 1986
(Three scenarios: uncle, friend, grandparent deaths)
About Dying (non-fiction)
by Sara Bennett Stein
Walker and Co., 1974
Time for Uncle Joe
by Nancy Jewall
Harper 1981
(Memories through the seasons and belongings)
Coping with Death and Grief (non-fiction)
by Marge Heegaard
Woodland Press, 1990
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf (metaphor)
by Leo Buscaglia
Holt Rinehart, 1982
Charlotte's Web
by E.B. White
Harper & Row, 1952
(Classic story of animal's attachment, loss and grief)
Sibling
Nadia, The Willful
by Lloyd Bloom
Pantheon Books, 1983
(Healing power of talking about brother's death)
Ghost Brother
C. S. Adler
Wally's daring, carefree older brother is killed in an accident; Wally attempts
to be less timid, enters skateboard competition and gains perspective on the
loss.
Am I Still A Sister?
by Alicia Sims
(11-year-old author, baby brother's death)
Children Facing Grief
by Janis Loomis Romond
(Letters from siblings ages 6 - 15)
Parent
Good-Bye Momma
Tom Moore, 1993
Boyhood in a Newfoundland outpost, mom dies, father remarries
How It Feels When A Parent Dies
by Jill Krementz
(Photo essays by children ages 7 -1 6)
The Rag Coat (fiction)
by Lauren Mills
(Love felt from dad even after death)
Winter Holding Spring
by Crescent Dragonwagon
MacMillan Publishing, 1990
(Dad and daughter move through a year of seasons after mom's death)
A Star for the Latecomer
by Bonnie Zindel, 1980
(Young teen, mother and daughter deal with mom's cancer)
Daddy's Climbing Tree
by C.S. Adler
Clarion Books, 1993
(Jessica, 11, takes her little brother Tycho to her grandparents' house to look
for Daddy, who was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. But the grandparents
don't live there anymore and Daddy isn't there either. She learns to look for
his memory in her heart.)
Devil's Bridge
Cynthia C. DeFelice
Avon Books, 1994
(12 year old Ben copes with father's death and mother's overprotectiveness during
a fishing contest.)
Friend
A Taste of Blackberries
by Doris Smith, 1973
(Accidental death of friend, guilt, regret, funeral)
Dusty Was My Friend
by Andrea Clardy
Human Science Press, 1984
(Car accident)
The Empty Window
by Eve Bunting, 1980
(Impending death of friend)
We Remember Philip
by Norma Simon
Whitman, 1979
(Teacher's son's death, support, commemoration)
Grandparent
Missing May
Cynthia Rylant
(A summer to observe grandparents deep love for each other and then grandma
dies)
Finding Grandpa Everywhere: A Young Child Discovers Memories of a Grandparent
John Hodge, Susan Aitken
(Beautifully illustrated story of finding Grandpa in memories, things left behind,
a life lesson, and debunking the euphemism of "lost" for died.)
A Sunburned Prayer
by Marc Talbert, 1995
(Hispanic 11-year-old hopes for a miracle for grandmother's cancer)
Blackberries in the Dark (also a video)
by Mavis Jukes, 1985
(Widow and grandson coping after grandfather's death)
A Gift for Tia Rosa
by Karen Taha
Dillon, 1985
(Before and after elderly neighbor's death, explores regret)
When Grandfather Journeys Into Winter
by Craig Strete
Greenwillow, 1979
(Native American grandson)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles
Little Brown, 1971
(Navaho view of death from grandmother to granddaughter)
My Grandmother Died But I Won't Forget Her
by Bernice Hogan
Abingdon, 1983
(Visitors, funeral, loneliness, memories)
Nana
by Lyn Hooper
Harper, 1981
(Day after death of grandmother, hopeful)
What Happened When Grandma Died?
by Peggy Barker
Concordia, 1984
(Christian explanation of death)
My Grandson Lew (also video)
by Charlotte Zoltow
Harper and Row, 1974
(Mom and child recall grandfather)
Pet
A Dog like Jack
Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan
The Horn Book, Inc. 1999
(Jack's family adopts a dog, they have a life together, the dog grows old and
dies. Warm watercolor, warm narrative, concludes with note to parents and teachers.)
Compiled by Judy Young, M.Ed., Grief Counselor, Allina Hospitals and Clinics
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