Badger's Parting Gifts
By Susan Varley.
Reading age: Baby - 5 years; 32 pages.
Badger is so old that he knows he must soon die, so he does his best to prepare his friends. When he finally dies, they are grief-stricken, but one by one they remember the special things he taught them during his life. By sharing their memories, they realise that although Badger is no longer with them physically, he lives on through his friends. A quintessential and multi award-winning picture book about losing a loved one.
Someone Has Died Suddenly
By Mary Williams & Steve Fraser.
Reading age: children; 40 pages.
Acclaimed picture book for children to read with their carer when someone has died suddenly. This book provides simple explanations of what happens after a sudden death, in language that children can easily understand.
Helping Suddenly Bereaved Children - Your guide to using the book Someone Has Died Suddenly
As a parent or carer, it can be particularly difficult to know what to say to bereaved children or how to behave around them. This guide that accompanies the children’s book helps adults to provide support to bereaved children.
The Memory Tree
By Britta Teckentrup.
Reading age: 3-5 years; 32 pages.
Fox has lived a long and happy life in the forest, but now he is tired. He lies down in his favourite clearing and falls asleep for ever. Before long, Fox’s friends begin to gather in the clearing. One by one, they tell stories of the special moments that they shared with Fox. And so, as they share their memories, a tree begins to grow, becoming bigger and stronger with each memory, sheltering and protecting all the animals in the forest, just as Fox did when he was alive. This gentle story about the loss of a loved one is perfect for sharing and will bring comfort to both children and parents.
Where Are You Lydie?
By Emma Poore.
Reading age: 3 - 7 years; 32 pages.
A special picture book centred around the subject of sibling loss, sensitively written and illustrated. It aids young children and their parents to explore death and bereavement together and to start those difficult conversations or explore the questions that may come up after the death of a baby in a safe and inspiring space. “It’s Lydie’s birthday today but she’s not here”. In this honest and heartfelt story two brothers go on an emotional journey to find a way to connect with their baby sister. A true and uplifting story for young children about love, loss and hope.
The Invisible String
By Patrice Karst.
Reading age: 4-7 years; 40 pages.
Recommended and adopted by parenting blogs, bereavement support groups, hospice centres, foster care and social service agencies, military library services, church groups, and educators, The Invisible String offers a very simple approach to overcoming loneliness, separation, or loss with an imaginative twist that children easily understand and embrace, and delivers a particularly compelling message in today's uncertain times.
Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine
By Diana Crossley & Kate Sheppard.
Reading age: 5-7 years; 32 pages.
Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine offers practical and sensitive support for bereaved children. Beautifully illustrated, it suggests a helpful series of activities and exercises accompanied by the friendly characters of Bee and Bear. This book offers a structure and an outlet for the many difficult feelings which inevitably follow when someone dies. It aims to help children make sense of their experience by reflecting on the different aspects of their grief, whilst finding a balance between remembering and having fun. This book is a useful companion in the present and will become an invaluable keepsake in the years to come.
Letting Go!
By Sharie Coombes & Ellie O'Shea.
Reading age: 7-11 years; 96 pages.
Letting Go! is an interactive self-care activity book for children to colour and doodle their way through emotions tied to grief, bereavement and family separation. Encouraging and simple activities and exercises tackle the feelings associated with loss; children will enjoy using their creativity to combat negative feelings and work out how to cope with these emotions through writing, colouring, doodling and drawing. The quirky illustrations will keep the reader entertained and focused as they work through the book, or simply dip into the pages for ten minutes of calm colouring.
Out Of The Blue
By Julie A. Stokes, Paul Oxley and the Winston’s Wish charity.
Reading age: 8-14 years; 28 pages.
Out of the Blue has been written and designed specifically for teenagers, with the aim of supporting them through their bereavements with a range of activities.
Finding A Way Through When Someone Close Has Died
By Pat Mood & Lesley Whittaker.
Reading age: 5-15 years; 80 pages.
Written by children for children, this unique workbook is both written and illustrated by children and teenagers who have experienced the death of someone close to them - a parent, grandparent, sibling or friend. They describe their often confusing thoughts and emotions immediately after the bereavement and discuss how their day-to-day lives were affected, including such diverse issues as the reactions of those around them, practical changes and managing school and schoolwork. They offer advice, based on their own experiences, on how to cope with the practical and emotional upheavals of bereavement.
