Children's Books about Death, Loss, and Grieving

By Gwen Glazer, Librarian
July 21, 2017

Many children must face the terminal illness and death of pets, grandparents, other friends and family members, and more. Even children who aren’t directly dealing with loss or grieving often still have questions about the concepts.

Our children's book experts put together a list of picture books on the topic. It’s always a good idea—especially for sensitive emotional issues such as these—to read through a book yourself before you read it to a child to make sure you’re comfortable, but we believe these sensitive and straightforward portrayals can help kids of many ages.

Illness or Death of a Grandparent

  • Forget Me Not 

    by Nancy Van Laan; illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

    Julia’s grandmother has Alzheimer’s disease, and she doesn’t recognize her anymore. A straightforward and important book about a painful subject that explains the disease clearly.

  • book cover

    Cry, Heart, but Never Break

    by Glenn Ringtved; illustrated by Charlotte Pardi  translated from the Danish by Robert Moulthrop

    This book has a personified version of Death that comes to take away the grandmother of four brothers and sisters. Death is gentle, not scary, and explains his role in the world.

  • book cover

    Stones for Grandpa

    by Renee Londner; illustrations by Martha Avilés

    After his grandfather has been dead for a year, a Jewish boy joins his family in the custom of unveiling his grandpa's tombstone and remembering his life.  

Death of a Pet

  • book cover

    The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye

    by Jane Yolen
    When a sick, older cat knows her life is drawing to a close, she goes around saying goodbye to her favorite people, their dog, and other animals out in nature before lying down to die under a rosebush alone. Both sweet and direct.

  • book cover

    The Tenth Good Thing about Barney

    by Judith Viorst; illustrated by Erik Blegvad
    A classic story about a boy mourning the death of his cat and the ways his parents help him process his grief.

  • book cover

    Big Cat, Little Cat

    by Elisha Cooper

    A story, told from a cat’s perspective, about the life cycle of a pet. A big cat welcomes a little one into a family, teaches it how to behave, and eventually grows old and dies—and then the little cat steps into that role when the family brings home another new kitten.

  • book cover

    The Goodbye Book

    by Todd Parr

    Parr's bold line drawings lend themselves well to this simple, straightforward book about an orange fish saying goodbye to a green fish, and the way kids might feel when they say goodbye too.

Serious & Meaningful

  • book cover

    Where Do They Go? 

    by Julia Alvarez; illustrated by Sabra Field

    Open-ended questions and abstract illustrations lead children gently into a deep discussion of death and its aftermath. When somebody dies, / where do they go? Who can I ask? / Does anyone know?”

  • book cover

    I Remember Miss Perry

    by Pat Brisson; illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch

    When Stevie’s beloved teacher is killed in a car crash, he and his classmates talk about her impact on their lives and process her death with the help of a grief counselor and their parents.

  • book cover

    Missing Mommy

    by Rebecca Cobb

    Told from the point of view of a boy whose mother has died, this book shows him move through a range of emotions—confusion, jealousy, guilt, and sadness. At the end, he talks with his father about remembering her.

Lighthearted & Whimsical

  • book cover

    Sally Goes to Heaven

    by Stephen Huneck

    What happens in a dog’s version of heaven? Meatballs grow on bushes and piles of dirty socks abound in this silly and comforting story about a black Lab that wakes up in heaven and eventually expects to meet her family there.

  • book cover

    Bug in a Vacuum

    by Mélanie Watt 

    This story about (you guessed it) a bug that finds itself trapped in a vacuum bag shows the five stages of grief—denial, bargaining, anger, despair, acceptance—and offers a laugh during a difficult time.

  • book cover

    Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery

    by Jamie Lee Curtis; illustrated by Laura Cornell

    A whimsical tale about what happens to lost balloons, which only just touches on the idea of loss.

Stories of Animals & Nature

  • book cover

    The Dandelion’s Tale

    by Kevin Sheehan; illustrated by Rob Dunlavey. 

    A subtle story about the life cycle. When Dandelion dies, her friend Sparrow finds hope in the 10 new dandelion pods and tells her story to keep her memory alive.

  • book cover

    Tess’s Tree

    by Jess M. Brallier; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

    When a 175-year-old tree is cut down, nine-year-old Tess is devastated. She holds a funeral for the tree and meets many other people who also loved her tree.

  • book cover

    The Dead Bird

    by Margaret Wise Brown; illustrated by Christian Robinson

    A more straightforward story about what happens to animals after they die told through the eyes of a group of children who find a dead bird in a city park and decide to give it a funeral.

Allegorical & Lyrical

  • book cover

    The Heart and the Bottle

    by Oliver Jeffers

    After a little girl loses a man who’s close to her—most likely a father or grandfather, but it isn’t specified—she carries her heart in a bottle around her neck. An oblique allegory about grief that may work well for kids who approach death from a more subtle angle.

  • book cover

    Making a Friend

    by Alison McGhee; illustrated by Marc Rosenthal

    An allegorical story about a boy building a snowman, which quickly melts. But it persists in a different form via frost and rain and all the water in the world, and then the boy builds another the next winter. Kids may or may not realize this story is about loss, but it provides a supportive framework.

  • book cover

    Gentle Willow: A Story for Children about Dying

    by Joyce Mills; illustrated by Cary Pillo

    Wise tree wizards talk to a squirrel and a tree about the tree’s impending death, and eventually help them both move toward accepting it.

Nonfiction

  • book cover

    When Dinosaurs Die

    by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown

    A straightforward explanation about what it means to be alive or dead, different cultural customs, and ways to remember people who have died.

  • book cover

    I Miss You: A First Look at Death

    by Pat Thomas; illustrated by Lesley Harker

    Written by a therapist, this book lays out the facts about both the physical realities and emotional complexities of death with candid, true-to-life examples.

  • book cover

    Death Is Stupid

    by Anastasia Higginbotham

    An explanation of the feelings many young people experience when someone dies, plus an explanation of ways to celebrate love and life.

Thanks to several library staff members for their suggestions: Liz Lipari, Peggy Salwen, Clarissa Cooke, Elizabeth Covington, Leah Labrecque, Karen McGoohan, Lauren Younger, and Jenny Rosenoff.