Adult Grief - General

 

• Option B - by Sheryl Sandberg
  Talks about building resilience after life’s setbacks and finding joy.

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Anticipatory Grief - Elementary Students
 

• The Invisible String - by Geoff Stevenson
  Teaches kids that even though they cannot see their loved one, they are always connected. 

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• Cinnamon Roll Sunday - by Jennifer Allen
  Parent with cancer declines. Story about a child dealing with changes related to death.

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Anticipatory Grief - High School Students
 

• Help for the Hard Times, Getting Through Loss - by Earl Hipp
  Helps people to understand loss and the feelings that surround it.​
   

• Fire in my Heart, Ice in my Veins - by Enid Samuel Traisman, M.S.W
  A guided journal to help young adults deal with feelings of loss.
   

• Someone You Love is Dying. How Do You Cope? - by Charles A. Corr, Ph.D.
  Information to help those dealing with anticipatory grief. 

 

Anticipatory Grief - Interactive Books for All Ages 
 

• When Someone has a Very Serious Illness - by Marge Heegaard
  An activity book for children to make sense of the death.
   

• Draw it Out - by Steffanie Long & Rosalie Frankel
  Therapeutic activity book for ages 6+ that encourages expression and feelings of loss.
   

• Ink About It - by Steffanie Long & Annie McCall
  Therapeutic activity book for ages 6+ that encourages expression and feelings of loss.     
   

• Goodbye Forever - by Jim Boulden
  An explanation for kids explaining how death is a natural process and how to accept your feelings. 
   

• Saying Goodbye - by Jim Boulden
  A gentle, non-threatening way to present death and healing discussion of emotional issues. 

 

Children’s Grief - General - Adult Resources
 

• Children Grieve, Too: Helping Children Cope with Grief - by Joy Johnson
  A resource to help adults understand how children cope with grief.     
   

• Helping Children Cope with Grief - by Alan Wolfelt
  Explains how children of all ages cope with grief and how adults can assist them. 
   

• When Families Grieve. Sesame Street Grief Kit - from New York Life
  Information and activity ideas to help families with their grief. 
   

• After a Loved One Dies – How Children Grieve - from New York Life
  An informative booklet for parents and other caregivers as they help children cope with their grief and fear following a death.

 

Children’s Grief - General - Children Resources 
 

• Complete Book About Death for Kids - by Earl A. Grollman
  A three section information book for kids highlighting information on death and your feelings, burial and cremations and funeral and cemeteries. 
   

• What Does That Mean? - by Harold Ivan Smith
  A dictionary of death, dying and grief terms for grieving children and those who love them. 
   

• A Bunch of Balloons: A Book-Workbook for Grieving Children - by Dorothy Ferguson
  A book to help grieving children acknowledge what they have lost and celebrate what they still have left when someone they love had died. 
   

• 25 Things to Do - by Laurie Kanyer MA
  Provides a guide to helping children through grief, including directions for activities that allow children to handle the myriad losses they experience. 
   

• I Know I Made It Happen: Children and Guilt - by Lynn Blackburn
  Gives kids support and understanding during crisis.
   

• What on Earth Do You Do When Someone Dies? - by Trevor Romain
  For children who have lost a loved one or other special people. 
   

• Lost and Found: Remembering a Sister - by Ellen Yeomans
  About a child’s search for understanding after the death of her sister. Dealing with her own grief and accepting the emotions of those around her, this child finds her way toward healing.
   

• I Miss You: A First Look at Death - by Pat Thomas
  This books explains that death is a natural compliment to life, and that grief and a sense of loss are normal feelings to have following a loved one’s death. 
   

• Sad Isn’t Bad: A Good-Grief Guidebook for Kids Dealing with Loss - by Michaelene Mundy
  Offers comfort and a realistic look at loss loaded with positive, life-affirming help for coping with loss as a child. 
   

• The Invisible String - by Patrice Karst
  A story that teaches how we aren’t separated from our loved ones after they die. We are always attached to them by an “invisible string”. 
   

• Healing Your Grieving Heart for Kids: 100 Practical Ideas - by Alan Wolfelt
  Offers suggestions for healing activities that can help survivors learn to express their grief and mourn naturally. 
   

• Michael Rosen’s Sad Book - by Michael Rosen
  A book that talks about the sad feelings you experience after the death of a loved one. 
   

• The Next Place - by Warren Hanson
  A message of hope and gift of compassion for the bereaved. A story that celebrates life in color illustrations. 
   

• Where Are You? A Child’s Book About Loss - by Laura Olivieri
  A kind and supportive story with beautiful illustrations designed to help children of all ages cope with the loss of a loved one. 

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Death of an Immediate Family Member 
 

• Mama’s Going to Heaven Soon - by Kathe Martin Copeland
  A loving and supportive father tells his children that their sick mother is going to die. Includes advice for caregivers on how to talk to youngsters about death. 
   

• Missing Mommy: A Book About Bereavement - by Rebecca Cobb
  Honest and straightforward story exploring the many emotions a bereaved child experiences. Highlighting how a child is not alone and they are still a part of a family that loves them. 

Death by Overdose 

 

• Someone I Love Died from a Drug Overdose - by Melody Ray
  A story for children who have experienced the death of a loved one from accidental overdose. 

Death of a Pet

 

• The Tenth Good Thing About Barney - by Judith Viorst
  A young child’s reaction to the death of his pet cat. 

 

Feelings 

 

• When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry - by Molly Bang
  This book talks about different ways to handle anger. 

Fictional - 5th Grade & Older 

 

• A Taste of Blackberries - by Doris Buchanan Smith
  A young boy grieves the death of his friend through the different stages of grief. 
   

• The Empty Place: A Child’s Guide Through Grief - by Roberta Temes
  A nine-year-old boy experiences the death of his sister. With feelings of confusion, anger and fear, a counselor teaches him ways to cope and heal. 
   

• Dream Clouds - by Alesia K. Alexander Layne
  A story about a boy whose whole world changes when his mother dies suddenly. 
   

• The Fall of Freddie the Leaf - by Leo Buscaglia
  A book that explains the circle of life simply with warmth and tenderness. 

Fictional - Juvenile Easy - 5th Grade & Younger 

 

• Molly’s Mom Died: A Child’s Book of Hope Through Grief - by Margaret M. Holmes
  Ollie talks about the feelings that he has been having since the death of his mother. Includes information for caregivers. 
   

• Finding Grandpa Everywhere: A Young Child Discovers Memories of a Grandparent - by John Hodge
  After Grandpa dies, a young boy finds that the memories of him and his love live on everywhere he looks. Includes a discussion of the importance of allowing children to understand death and undergo the process of grieving. 
   

• Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children - by Bryan Mellonie
  A book that explains that all living things have their own special lifetime from the beginning, ending and everything in between.
   

• Sad Hug, Mad Hug, Happy Hug – A Children’s Story About Death - by Channing Bete
  A story about a teddy bear family who addresses the issues of a death in the family. 
   

• Badger’s Parting Gifts - by Susan Varley
  After badger dies, his friends are say but treasure the memories he left them. 
   

• Cry, Heart, But Never Break - by Glenn Ringtved, Charlotte Pardi, & Robert Moulthrop
  A story how death arrives and teaches children the value of loss to life and the importance of being able to say goodbye. 
   

• The Heart and the Bottle - by Oliver Jeffers
  This book is about learning to find the joy in our surroundings even when our special someone is no longer around. 
   

• Always and Forever - by Alan Durant
  When Fox dies, Mole, Hare, and Otter are devastated. At a visit together, they realize that Fox is still with them in their hearts and memories. 
   

• The Goodbye Book - by Todd Parr
  Through the lens of a pet fish who has lost his companion, Todd Parr tells a moving and wholly accessible story about saying goodbye.
   

• Ida, Always - by Caron Levis
  Gus and Ida the polar bears are best friends. After Ida dies, Gus realizes even though Ida is gone, she will still be with him through the sounds of the city and the memories that live in their favorite spots. 

Spanish Language 

 

• Not the End of the Chavez Family - by Escrito por Mari Dombkowski
  A story of hope about a young girl’s grief journey when her father dies of a tragic death. 

Teens

 

• Facing Change: Falling Apart and Coming Together Again in the Teen Years - by Donna B. O’Tolle
  An informative book that helps teens understand their losses and discover creative coping strategies to deal with them.
   

• Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas - by Alan Wolfelt
  With sensitivity and insight, this series offers suggestions for healing activities that can help survivors learn to express their grief and mourn naturally. 
   

• Help for the Hard Times: Getting Through Loss - by Earl Hipp
  Addresses loss and discusses young people’s experiences to help you provide students with tools to grieve and ways to keep their losses from becoming too overwhelming. 
   

• Common Threads of Teenage Grief - by Janet Tyson
  Stories and “words of encouragement” written by teens who have experienced a death. 
   

• Straight Talk About Death for Teenagers - by Earl A. Grollman
  A book that explains to teens some things to expect when they lose someone they love. 
   

• When Death Walks In - by Mark Scrivani
  Gives important information about grief and what we can do about anger, Sadness and all the emotions that come when death walks in. 
   

• Teen Grief Relief - by Dr. Heidi Horsley & Dr. Gloria Horsley
  A self-help book for grieving teenagers and their parents. A book of teen stories, feelings, techniques, references and resources. 
   

• Weird is Normal When Teenagers Grieve - by Jenny Lee Wheeler
  A self help book for the grieving child written by actively grieving teens. 
   

• When a Friend Dies - by Marilyn E Gootman Ed. D
  A book answering questions teens often have after the death of a friend. 
   

• Helping Teens Cope with Death - by The Dougy Center
  A practical guide that covers the unique grief response of teenagers and the specific challenges they face when grieving a death. 
   

• A Teen’s Simple Guide to Grief - by Alexis Cunningham
  A book offering teenagers a look into the challenges facing them after the death of a significant person in their life.
   

• The Grieving Teen: A Guide for Teenagers and Their Friends - by Helen Fitzgerald
  A unique and passionate guide for adolescents struggling with loss and gives teens the tools they need to work through their pain and grief. 
   

• Part of Me Died, Too: Stories of Creative Survival Among Bereaved Children & Teenagers - by Virginia Lynn Fry
  Stories of children, among various ages, showing how drawings, music, and other rituals can help the grieving process.  
   

• Living When a Young Friend Commits Suicide: Or Even Starts Talking About It - by Earl A. Grollman & Max Malikow
  A book addressing young survivors of the epidemic suicide rate among young people. 
   

• You Are Not Alone: Teens Talk About Life After the Loss of a Parent - by Lynne B. Hughes
  Words of reassurance and strategies for coping with the loss of a parents.