Children's Picture Books

A young girl, still reeling from her dog's death, finds solace while picking up stones on the beach during her family's vacation.

When they find a dead bird, a group of children bury it in the woods, sing a song to it, and put flowers on the grave.

As Freddie experiences the changing seasons along with his companion leaves, he learns about the delicate balance between life and death.

Arthur's dog Daisy is very old, and one night, after going to sleep as usual, she wakes up in heaven. Because Daisy knows that Arthur is sad, she finds a way to let him know she is very happy, the first step toward making him happy again, too.

When Jim's dog is killed, the other first graders experience with him his natural reactions to death.

Paws + Edward is a dog-and-his-boy story, told from Paws' perspective. Paws is an old dog whose rabbit-chasing is limited to his dreams nowadays. When Paws dies, Edward is lost without his loyal companion, but finds solace and even happiness in his own memories and dreams of Paws

After a long life of chasing squirrels, licking ice cream cones, and loving his adoptive family, an old dog comes to the end of his days.

In a strangely heart-warming story, a duck strikes up an unlikely friendship with Death.

Ocho was a busy cat. He was Annie's best friend, and he loved flowers! Annie's love for Ocho helped her learn how to care for him...at a time when it mattered most.

Daniel learns how to handle the feelings he has after his pet fish, Blue Fish, dies.

A boy grieves for his dead pet Mousie, helps to bury him, and begins to come to terms with his loss.

The death of Bob's cat prompts his friends and family to give him a surprise birthday party and a very special present.

Pablito, a Guatemalan boy whose pet pig Amarillo has disappeared, uses a kite to send him a message that he still loves him.

Life is Like the Wind introduces the concept of death to young readers by likening life to the ever-moving wind. When the wind is present, things move and fly and flutter about. When the wind goes away, things become very still.

Although Mog dies on the first page ("Mog was tired. She was dead tired.- Mog thought, `I want to sleep for ever.' And so she did"), the cat stays around for the duration of the story in the form of a spirit, thinking that the family won't be able to get along without her.

Tulip the watering fairy and her best friend Lupin, a honey-making dog-bee, cultivate their fields and make delicious honey. When Lupin grows old and dies, Tulip is bereft. After a long journey, and the help of a river, the sea, and a friendly tortoise, Tulip is finally ready to start living again. When she returns home, a puppy-bee is waiting for her; eager for his turn in the field.

Farmer Evan and his dog do everything together and, especially, in the garden but when his dog passes away Evan lets his garden fill with weeds until a pumpkin vine brings new hope.

When a pet dies, it can feel like you lost your best friend. What do you do? Whether you had a guinea pig, dog, cat, or fish, this story can help you through the tough times.

A homeless cat wanders into a small church and warms the hearts of the people there.

A young boy deals with the loss of his beloved cat, Charlie, eventually accepting the arrival of another, very different cat.

Big Cat Pepper has always been part of the family, but after he grows very old and dies, the boy who loves him comes to understand his mother's reassurance that "his spirit is forever and can fly, fly, fly."

Lily ran and jumped and barked and whimpered and growled and wiggled and wagged and licked and snuggled. But not now. It is hard to lose a pet. There is sadness, but also hope--for a beloved pet lives on in your heart, your memory, and your imagination.

Explores the feelings of frustration, sadness, and loneliness that a youngster may feel when a pet dies

God created Cat Heaven, with fields of sweet grass where cats can play, kitty-toys for them to enjoy, and angels to rub their noses and ears.

God created Dog Heaven, a place where dogs can eat ice cream biscuits, sleep on fluffy clouds, and run through unending fields.

A group of children says goodbye to a beloved pet turtle who has died.

As a young boy mourns the loss of his pet rabbit, he reminisces about the fun times they shared and is reassured that his beloved friend lives on "in the memories, in the garden, in my heart".

In an attempt to overcome his grief, a boy tries to think of the ten best things about his dead cat.

A little girl tells about her special pet, Sammy, "the best hound dog in the whole world," and how, after he becomes sick and dies, she comes to know the truth of her mother's words, that Sammy's spirit is everywhere

One day when Harry comes home from school, his faithful companion Hopper isn't there to greet him, in a touching story about the process of healing after losing a beloved pet.

In this gentle, moving story, Elfie, a dachshund, and her special boy progress happily through life together. One morning Elfie does not wake up. The family grieves and buries her. The watercolor illustrations, tender and warm in color and mood, suit the simple text perfectly.

When a young boy finds his old dog dead one morning, he spends the rest of the day thinking about all the good times they had together.

This book provides reassurance and understanding to readers through clear and honest answers to the difficult questions that can follow the death of a loved one, and carries the invaluable message that it is okay to be sad, but it is okay to be happy, too.

As his family reminisces after his beloved grandfather's death, a boy realizes that his grandfather is still with him in all the special places they shared.

This quiet, gentle, heart-warming book is meant to be shared with a child - a book first about love and friendship, and then about loss.

A woman reminisces about her neighbor's son who was the object of a letter writing campaign by some fourth-graders when he went away to war in 1943.

A modern-day Native American girl learns to understand the cycle of life after her grandfather dies.

When a sick boy dies, his friends and classmates remember him by building a schoolyard pond in his memory.

As Freddie experiences the changing seasons along with his companion leaves, he learns about the delicate balance between life and death.

Daddy comforts and reassures a very young boy after Mommy dies.

A young girl reflects on a year of exploring and laughing with her beloved Grandpa, remembering many special moments as she seeks a way to honor him after his death.

In this thoughtful story of loss and recovery a young boy's happy life is interrupted when his grandfather passes away. Suddenly his world is full of big questions and difficult emotions. Will things ever be normal again? For a time he struggles with his thoughts and feelings. Then one day, during a chance encounter on the subway, he makes a wonderful new connection...

As her grandmother taught her, Magdalena continues to protect the sea turtles that nest near her home even after Grandma's death.

A young boy and his family are trying to overcome the loss of his father. The natural world becomes part of the healing process.

Four-year-old Tommy enjoys his relationship with both his grandmother and great-grandmother, but eventually learns to face their inevitable death.

Bruno's grandfather has passed away. Bruno participates in the funeral with the grown-ups, but doesn't think his grandfather has died, he's just sleeping!

When their salamander friend dies, mouse siblings Benny and Penny learn how to say goodbye.

Gramps's farm isn't the same after Grandma's death, but slowly Mags and Cody work to recreate her spirit by bringing back some of the things she loved.

Five-year-old Emily tries to understand her grandfather's death by exploring the Christian and Jewish rituals that her family practices during and after his funeral.

Explore the feelings we have when a loved one's life goes away, how we cope with missing them, and how we can celebrate their memory.

After safeguarding her heart in a bottle hung around her neck, a girl finds the bottle growing heavier and her interest in things around her becoming smaller.

A family, including a child who is dying, sews together a quilt of its memories and love.

While celebrating the Days of the Dead, a young Mexican girl remembers her wonderful grandmother who sang songs, made tortillas, chased monsters away, and loved butterflies.

A polar bear grieves over the loss of his companion, based on the real-life Gus and Ida of New York's Central Park Zoo.

When someone you love dies, you might feel sad, lonely, and confused. What do you do? No matter who your loved one was, this story can help you through the tough times.

Emily introduces her younger brother, Ben, to butterflies, which he calls "flying flowers," and when his illness makes him too weak to go see them she draws him pictures, but after his death she no longer wants to draw happy things. Includes note to parents.

Aunt Mattie has died. But before she went, she got to say good-bye to Lottie. Then she got to follow a light to a bustling gate. (A gate that sounded a lot like a busy airport!) And there she found a crew of friends who were waiting to take off with her on a new journey. Will Lottie and Herbie be able to overcome their sadness? They will, with time, and by taking a journey of their own--a journey filled with a little heartache, a lot of happiness, and a batch of Aunt Mattie's favorite peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. (With bananas, of course!)

When the death of a relative, a friend, or a pet happens or is about to happen . . . how can we help a child to understand? Lifetimes tells us about beginnings. And about endings. And about living in between.

After Old Turtle swims his last swim and breathes his last breath, and the waves gently take him away, his friends lovingly remember how he impacted each and every one of them. As the sea animals think back on how much better Old Turtle made their lives and their world, they realize that he is not truly gone, because his memory and legacy will last forever.

Amanda the squirrel is upset that she is going to lose her friend Gentle Willow, but the tree wizards give advice that help both her and Gentle Willow accept the change that comes with death.

Grieving over her father's death from cancer, a young girl celebrates their last year together by making a book that includes mementos and a story.

When Stacy's baby sister dies of SIDS, she feels confused & guilty.

Anna and Joey list the things they would do with Poppy, if they had one more day to share with their grandfather.

Children ask different adults and themselves about death and receive a wide variety of answers.

Hippo and Monkey are best, best, best friends and when the wise old Hippo dies, Monkey is very sad until Chameleon helps him remember the stories he and Hippo shared.

Bear and Grandpa are going fishing today. But where is Grandpa? Bear's friends gently tell him that Grandpa has died, and together they say goodbye.

Emily and Ben struggle to make sense of their changed world after the loss of their mother to cancer. The children embark on a journey of healing and acceptance as they come to realize they can keep their mother's memory alive--that her love will stay with them always.

A child remembers special moments with Mama and starts to feel better after grieving over her death.

When Rachel's beloved grandfather, Zayde, comes to spend his last days with her family, she worries what will happen when he dies, especially after friends tell her the Christian and Muslim beliefs about the afterlife.

Badger's friends are sad when he dies, but they treasure the legacies he left them.

Spare, poignant, and ultimately upbeat, this tale depicts the natural cycle of friendship from an enthusiastic first encounter to contented companionship to the heartbreak of loss and eventual emotional renewal. Presented with a comfortingly consistent narrative structure, the events are set against the backdrop of the changing seasons, reassuring readers that winter will turn again to spring, sadness to joy.

A child and her grandmother feel sad when Grandpa dies, but as time passes, funny memories of him make them laugh and feel better.

A boy asks others how they felt when his grandfather died and then shares his own feelings.

Together Lewis and his mother remember Grandpa, who used to come in the night when Lewis called.