A Shelf for Grieving Hearts
Children's Books
Big feelings in small hands. These picture books help a child meet loss gently, with pictures to hold onto and words sized for a little heart.
Ages 7–10 — grief, imagination, meaning, and hope
A Monster Calls
Patrick Ness
A profound story about grief, fear, and truth (best read together).
Duck, Death and the Tulip
Wolf Erlbruch
A startlingly tender meeting between Duck and Death — small, honest, and unexpectedly comforting.
Michael Rosen's Sad Book
Michael Rosen
Honest, validating, and emotionally intelligent.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Charlie Mackesy
Quiet, hand-lettered wisdom about kindness, fear, and love — a small book that holds an enormous heart.
The Heart and the Bottle
Oliver Jeffers
A poetic exploration of protecting and reopening the heart.
The Memory Tree
Britta Teckentrup
A gentle metaphor for remembrance.
Ages 9–12 — deeper grief, afterlife themes, spiritual curiosity
All the Blues in the Sky
Renée Watson
A novel in verse following a girl through grief group, friendship, and the slow return of colour.
Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate DiCamillo
Explores loneliness, healing, and connection.
Bridge to Terabithia
Katherine Paterson
A classic about friendship, loss, and meaning.
Each Little Bird That Sings
Deborah Wiles
A child living among funerals learns about grief and compassion.
Love That Dog
Sharon Creech
Poetry, loss, and creative expression.
Pax
Sara Pennypacker
A boy and his fox, separated by war — a luminous story of love, loss, and finding the way home.
Red Kayak
Priscilla Cummings
A quiet, powerful novel about guilt, friendship, and finding a way through after tragedy.
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Eleanor Coerr
A true, luminous story of courage and hope — folded one paper crane at a time.
The Crossover
Kwame Alexander
A pulse-beat novel in verse about brothers, basketball, and the loss that changes everything.
The Dead Fox of Deadwood Forest
Aubrey Hartman
A lyrical fable about death, friendship, and the gentle work of saying goodbye.
The Fourteenth Goldfish
Jennifer L. Holm
A warm, funny meditation on mortality, science, and the people we don't want to lose.
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
Dan Gemeinhart
A road-trip story about a girl, her father, and the memory box buried back home.
The Seventh Most Important Thing
Shelley Pearsall
A boy's grief and anger find shape in a beautiful, true story of redemption and broken-glass art.
The Thing About Jellyfish
Ali Benjamin
A young girl's search for meaning after a friend's drowning — wide-hearted, scientific, and tender.
When You Trap a Tiger
Tae Keller
A Newbery-winning blend of Korean folklore and family love that meets loss with magic and courage.
Living, dying & end of life
Annabelle & Aiden: What Happens When We Die?
J.R. Becker
A gentle, life-affirming picture book that helps children meet the biggest question with wonder and warmth.
Everywhere Still
M.H. Clark
A small, lyrical keepsake about love that does not vanish — the kind of book you press into a grieving hand.
When Someone You Love Has Died
Stephanie Seidler
A soft-spoken companion for anyone in the early, tender days after a death.
Ages 5–8 — story-driven, emotional naming, reassurance
Badger's Parting Gifts
Susan Varley
A classic about legacy and remembering.
Ida, Always
Caron Levis
Beautifully handles anticipatory grief and remembrance.
Missing You Always: A Heartfelt Coloring Book for Kids Coping with Loss
Missing You Always
A soothing colouring companion for children whose hands need to be busy while their hearts grieve.
Sonya's Chickens
Phoebe Wahl
A gentle farm story that meets the loss of a beloved animal with honesty, tears, and tender care.
Tear Soup
Pat Schwiebert & Chuck DeKlyen
A timeless modern fable — Grandy stirs her grief like soup, teaching that mourning takes its own time.
The Burst Balloon
Cher Louise Jones
A South African picture book using a burst balloon to name loss in language young hearts can hold.
The Goodbye Book
Todd Parr
Simple, honest, and comforting — especially for pet loss.
What Does Grief Feel Like?
Korie Leigh
A gentle, validating picture-guide that lets children describe grief in their own way.
When Dinosaurs Die
Laurie Krasny Brown & Marc Brown
Clear, honest answers to children's big questions.
When Someone Dies: A Children's Mindful How-To Guide on Grief and Loss
Andrea Dorn
A warm, mindful guide that gently walks children through the feelings and questions grief brings.
Where Did TJ Go?
Annie F. Downs
A heartfelt story for the youngest grievers wondering where someone they love has gone.
Why Do I Feel So Sad? A Grief Book for Children
Tracy Lambert
A reassuring read-aloud that helps children name sadness and find safe ways to share it.
For loss of a pet
Cat Heaven
Cynthia Rylant
Dog Heaven
Cynthia Rylant
Goodbye, Mousie
Robie H. Harris
I'll Always Love You
Hans Wilhelm
A boy and his dog grow old together — a quiet classic about love spoken while there's still time.
The Invisible Leash
Patrice Karst
A tender companion to The Invisible String — the bond with a beloved pet never truly breaks.
The Rainbow Bridge: A Visit to Pet Paradise
Adrian Raeside
A gentle, hopeful imagining of where our animals go — perfect for a child missing their friend.
When a Pet Dies
Fred Rogers
Mister Rogers' tender, honest companion for a child grieving a beloved animal.
Afterlife or spiritual continuity (gentle, non-dogmatic)
Elsewhere
Gabrielle Zevin
Upper middle grade. An imaginative, tender afterlife story.
Heaven
Nicholas Allan
Simple and childlike exploration of heaven.
I Have an Angel
Laura Feldman
A comforting picture book for children who feel a loved one watching over them.
The Dead Bird
Margaret Wise Brown
A quiet, respectful look at death and ritual.
When I'm with Jesus
Kimberly Rae
A soft, faith-rooted reassurance, written from the perspective of a child who has gone ahead.
Faith, spirit & the afterlife
God Gave Us Heaven
Lisa Tawn Bergren
A tender parent-and-child conversation that gently answers the biggest questions about heaven with warmth and reassurance.
Soaring with Angels
Polly Zielonka
A tender sibling-centred picture book for families holding the love of a baby who lived only briefly.
The Cardinal's Gift: A True Story of Finding Hope in Grief
Carole Heaney
A quiet true story about signs, faith and the small graces that arrive in the middle of mourning.
Ages 3–6 — simple language, reassurance, safety
Grief Is an Elephant
Tamara Ellis Smith
A beautifully metaphor-rich picture book that names grief's changing weight with warmth and honesty.
I Miss You
Pat Thomas
Names feelings honestly and gently.
Lifetimes
Bryan Mellonie
Explains death as part of life's natural cycle.
The ABCs of Grief: A Children's Grief Book for All Types of Grief and Loss
Jessica Correnti
A simple, comforting A–Z that gives little ones small words for big feelings.
The Invisible String
Patrice Karst
A beloved classic about invisible connections that never break.
The Memory Box
Joanna Rowland
A tender keepsake of a story — gathering memories as a quiet way of holding on while letting go.
The Rabbit Listened
Cori Doerrfeld
A quiet reminder that presence — not advice — is what truly comforts a hurting child.
The Sad Dragon
Steve Herman
A gentle rhyming companion for very young children meeting sadness for the first time.