Reddit mentions: The best death & dying books for children

I'm so incredibly sorry to hear this - I remember reading one of your previous posts and hoping for the best. You've already gotten some great advice here, in terms of following S's lead and letting her grieve however she needs to. I would talk through with her exactly what to expect at the visitation and funeral, and let her know she can ask to step outside with you for a few minutes at any time. I also agree that a counselor would be a good idea - though make sure you frame it as just something we do when we're dealing with big feelings, so she doesn't feel she's doing anything wrong or is incapable in any way.

There are also some good activity books/journals for kids to help process grief, such as Angel Catcher for Kids and When Someone Very Special Dies. There are also some beautiful picture books on the theme of death and grief, which might resonate with her even though she's maybe on the older side for picture books. In particular, her situation reminds me of the book Ida, Always, about two polar bears who are best friends until one dies (due to unspecified illness), and the other must find a way to go on while always remembering her. The Invisible String, The Memory Box, and Grief is a Mess would also be good choices. Another powerful depiction of grief is One Wave at a Time: A Story about Grief and Healing, but here the main character's father has died, so you may not want to plant that idea right now; there's also Rabbityness, which isn't explicitly about death but more about celebrating the unique legacy someone leaves behind after they are gone.

I hope something in there is helpful - maybe your daughter could read several of these and pick her favorite to give as a gift to K's dad? Help her brainstorm other ways she can offer support K's dad as well; while of course her first priority is her own grieving, it can sometimes be empowering for kids to feel like there's something meaningful they can do, to focus their energy and attention on. Whether that's writing down some favorite memories or collecting photos or making him a casserole or something else, I think K's dad would really appreciate anything S might want to share.

Awesome! I work more with PTSD rather than grief, but it often overlaps. I imagine you'll be getting training prior to starting with whatever assessment tools your agency uses, but I recommend reading up on TF-CBT, which is a great modality for trauma treatment with kiddos. I also really love this workbook for grief. My agency has a scanned copy so we can just print it off when necessary, so if yours doesn't have this I really recommend buying it and scanning the pages!

Hope this is helpful :) Good luck!!

I see that this is solved, but if you liked this book, there is one I loved when I was a kid called The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright that you might also enjoy.

The closest book I've come to find is Up in Heaven by Emma Clark.

I'm sorry to hear about your dog's passing. Know that you gave as much love and joy to your dog's life as your dog gave to yours. I hope you find your book.

I'd love to read this book, and my favorite book is "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein because I like the idea of colonizing another planet, and that colony's relationship with Earth afterwards, and Arthur C. Clarke once said that the first colonizers of another world would be convicts. And I find Heinlein's ideas of social order and poly relationships interesting. And of course - sentient computer!

so it goes
Trouble's Daughter because I read it when I was a teenager and it completely changed the way I thought about culture and acceptance. I know it seems silly, but I have always wanted my own copy so that I could one day let my (possible) children read it so it will have the same effect on them. It also sparked my love of historical fiction and Native American history. I recently finished My Mother's Secret and Angela's Ashes (for like the ump-teenth time) and am currently reading A Game of Thrones and The Caged Graves.

Tribes by Arthur Slade is somewhat like that. It mostly focuses on high school stereotypes. It's much more interesting than it sounds, the anthropologist kid is a nutcase that makes it a fun read.

You are living through something tragically incomprehensible to most adults. The silver lining is that children are different creatures entirely. They are wonder-ful; their imaginations and empathy, unmatched. While death seems impossible to explain, I hope you can take comfort in knowing there are beautiful ways of communicating this concept to children...

Here is a short list of outstanding picture books by writers and illustrators who’ve dedicated their artwork to this express purpose:

The Dandelion’s Tale by Kevin Sheehan & Rob Dunlavey

The Memory Box by Joanna Rowland & Thea Baker

The Heart and The Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

Rabbityness by Jo Empson

The Invisible String by Patrice Karst & Geoff Stevenson

I have an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults. Death and grieving in picture books is a prominent topic. I mention this only to perhaps add some validation to these suggestions. As an adult, I’ve found relief from picture books, and I know the power they have for children.

Sending you white light. Xo

Hero of time!

Book.

Thanks for the contest!

Dude, I totally read a book about you! good that your mate survived!
Swallowing Stones

Could it be Olivia Kidney by Ellen Potter?

>Readers who think they are getting a story about a lonely girl living with her sweet but inept father, a super in a New York high-rise, will be partially right. But as soon as Olivia opens the doors of several apartments, she (and readers), enter full-blown fantasy worlds, where occupants live in rooms of glass or a tropical forest; one resident wears a lizard boa and another is a ghost.

I didn't want to hear anything. Books I read with my mom (When Dinosaurs Die and Saying Goodbye to Daddy are both excellent) helped me a lot more than any religious counseling ever did. To hear that a God you have grown up loving and knowing that he is good, to hear that that God has killed your father and that you shouldn't be sad because he is in a better place, that is really awful.

This book is great

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/939381.A_Story_For_Hippo

And this one

http://www.amazon.com/Blow-Me-Kiss-Miss-Lilly/dp/0060210133

There's a couple of books on this that might be helpful - [this one] (https://www.amazon.com/Will-Remember-You-Catholic-Through/dp/0819837040) and also [this one] (https://www.amazon.com/Grieving-Help-Your-Catholic-Faith/dp/159276200X)

A friend of ours, a father of three young children, died last year from cancer. Like your mother he had been living with a fighting the illness for quite a long time, but he thought he still had some months left so they had only begun talking to the children about their father's illness and what it meant, and then a fortnight later he was gone. I think that while this was a very merciful way for him to go in the end and he didn't really suffer much, it was a real shock for his wife and children. We visited with them recently and the two younger children (who are now 4 and 2) still seem very confused and angry, while the oldest (now 6) is very quiet and withdrawn. I think you are right to be proactive and address this with your children now and prepare them to whatever degree you think that can understand and cope with, to lessen some of the shock. At this stage I wouldn't worry too much about getting into the framework of belief with them at this stage, because they are very young and close with their grandmother, but maybe they could think about the different reasons that we pray, not just asking for things / intercession, but to seek comfort and to give thanks for all the special times they have shared with your mother and just to feel close to God. Prayers for you

Teen paranormal romance has been around far far longer than Twilight.

This was the Twilight of my childhood and there were many more that came before that.

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with 3gv, anything that further concentrates the cultural obsession with Twilight-esque romantic drivel garners my disapproval. I'm not trying to be a blind hater; when I was a teenager I also read plenty of fantasy, including a lovely book about girl falling in love with a vampire. But Silver Kiss was also about family, and didn't have a cheesy Hollywood ending. Books in this genre now focus solely on the obsessive and immature supernatural romance. Whew, sorry for the rant

ebook please!

M rules! :D

Nope :( The cover was similar to Neil Shusterman's Everlost series.

Everlost?

https://www.amazon.com/Everlost-Skinjacker-Trilogy-Neal-Shusterman/dp/1501238418

There are some really good children’s books on death and dying, here is a good one written from a little girls perspective.

The Memory Box: A Book About Grief https://www.amazon.com/dp/1506426727/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KW-DCbW7XVQRS

So sorry for your loss. Your daughter is young so be sure to save some things so she can remember her mother later, it will be important to her later in life. For now she’s probably going to seem fine but exhibit her loss in other ways (sleeplessness, crying or even tantrums) just be with her all you can. ❤️