HELPFUL BOOKS

Explore a wide range of grief-related books for children, teens, and adults, thoughtfully selected to help families understand loss and move toward healing.

Books for Adults

Book cover titled 'A Broken Heart Still Beats After Your Child Dies' by Anne McCracken and Mary Semel, featuring a colorful flower in a small glass vase against a soft, cloudy background.
Book cover titled 'A Gathering of Angels: Seeking Healing after an Infant's Death,' compiled and edited by Victoria Leland, RN, featuring a silhouette of an angel against a cloudy sky background.
Book cover titled "A Parent's Guide to Raising Grieving Children" by Phyllis R. Silverman and Madelyn Kelly. The cover features a child sitting on grass near water, flying a pink kite in a blue sky.
Book cover titled "A Time to Grieve" with floral-themed artwork and subtitle "Meditations for Healing After the Death of a Loved One" by Carol Staudacher.
Book cover titled 'Angel Catcher: A Journal of Loss and Remembrance' by Kathy Eldon and Amy Eldon Turtletaub. The cover features a dandelion seed head with some seeds blowing away, set against a blue background.
Cover of a booklet with the title 'Cómo afrontar el duelo por la muerte de un hijo' from UCLA and Mattel Children's Hospital, featuring a blue butterfly on a green plant with yellow flowers.
Silhouette of a woman holding a child in front of a sunset, with the book title 'El Dolor de Perder un Hijo' by Sandy Bergmann Fuentes
Book cover titled 'Empty Arms' by Sherokee Ilse with a pink background, a stylized heart inside a crescent smile, and a yellow banner indicating it is a revised edition.
Book cover titled 'Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby' by Deborah L. Davis, Ph.D., with a butterfly illustration. Third edition.
Book cover titled 'Finding Hope When a Child Dies: What Other Cultures Can Teach Us' by Sukie Miller, Ph.D., with Doris Ober, featuring a light blue and white background and a quote from the Seattle Times at the top.
Book cover titled 'Grieving the Child I Never Knew' by Kathe Wunnenberg, with a light green background, floral decoration, and a small bunny illustration.
Book cover titled 'Growing Up in Heaven' by James Van Praagh, with a yellow background and purple text, featuring clouds and sky imagery.
Book cover titled 'Goodnight, Not Goodbye' with subtitle 'A Mother's Search for Hope After Sudden Child Loss,' featuring a black and white photo of a young girl sitting outside on a blanket, smiling and holding a ball.
Book titled 'Healing a Parent's Grieving Heart' by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D., with a light beige and green color scheme and an illustration of a tree.
Book cover with title 'How To Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies' by Therese A. Rando, Ph.D., with a pink and white background and green and blue text.
Book cover titled 'I Never Held You: Miscarriage, Grief, Healing and Recovery' by Ellen M. DuBois, featuring white doves flying against a blue sky and a young girl lying down.
Book cover titled 'I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye' with a background of a moonlit night over a river.
Book cover titled "It's OK That You're Not OK" by Megan Devine, with subtitle "Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand" and a foreword mention by Mark Nepo. The cover features a simple image of a wooden chair.
Book cover titled 'Journeys: Stories of Pregnancy After Loss' edited by Amy L. Abbey, featuring colorful illustrated butterflies on a dark background.
Book cover titled 'Life after Loss' by Bob Deits, M. Th., with a light-colored background and a decorative ribbon at the bottom.
A book cover titled 'Little Footprints: A Special Baby's Memory Book' by Dorothy Ferguson, featuring a background of pink flowers, green leaves, orange butterflies, and a blue sky with clouds, and faint footprints in the sky.
Book cover with pink and purple clouds in the background, titled 'Mi bebé nació al cielo' by Patricia Mora, with a subtitle about a new vision for happiness with your celestial baby.
Book cover titled 'Mommy, please don't cry' by Linda DeYmaz with illustrations by Sabrina Smith, featuring a cartoon angel flying above a small town with green hills.
A person with a red jacket and black and white pants walking on a sandy beach towards the ocean with a blue sky above, on the cover of a book titled 'Once More We Saw Stars' by Jayson Greene.
Book cover titled "Pregnancy after a Loss" by Carol Cirulli Lanham, with a subtitle "A Guide to Pregnancy after a Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Infant Death" and a foreword by Uel D. Crosby, M.D.
Book cover titled 'Remembering with Love: Messages of Hope for the First Year of Grieving and Beyond' by Elizabeth Levang, Ph.D., published by Cherokee Else, with a blue background and floral design.
Book cover for 'Rosalie Lighting: A Graphic Memoir' by Tom Hart, featuring an illustrated tree with colorful leaves and quotes by Socrates McCloud and John Darnielle.
Book cover titled 'Roses in December: Comfort for the Grieving Heart' with a red rose and green leaves on a white and red background.
Book cover titled "Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe" by Laura Lynne Jackson, featuring illustrations of birds, insects, and botanical elements on a light blue background.
Book cover titled 'Soy Papá y perdí un hijo' by Felipe Castañeda Avellano, featuring a boy walking through a green field at sunset.
Book cover titled 'The Miscarriage Map' by Dr. Sunita Osborn, featuring an origami star made from folded paper maps.
Cover of The Mourning Handbook by Helen Fitzgerald, featuring a soft green background with white and purple flowers, and text highlighting that it offers practical and compassionate advice on coping with death and dying.
Book cover titled 'The Other Side of Sadness' by George A. Bonanno, with a quote from Daniel Gilbert about understanding loss.
Cover of the book titled 'The SIDS Survival Guide,' featuring a lighthouse at sunset with a yellow banner indicating 'Second Edition Revised & Updated.' The subtitle reads 'Information and Comfort for Grieving Family & Friends & Professionals Who See
Book cover for 'Unexplained Pediatric Deaths: Investigation, Certification, and Family Needs' by Elizabeth A. Bunchbaugh and Tracy S. Comely, showing colorful playground equipment in the background.
Book cover titled 'When Things Fall Apart' by Pema Chödrön with a textured beige background and gold and black lettering.
Book cover titled "When Good-Bye is Forever: Learning to Live Again After the Loss of a Child" by John Bramblett, with a foreword by C. Everett Koop, published by Ballantine Books.
Book cover titled "When Life Takes What Matters" by Susan Lenzkes, featuring a peaceful beach scene with two empty lounge chairs under a thatched roof at sunset.
Book cover for 'When the Bough Breaks' by Judith R. Bernstein, Ph.D., narrated by Maria McCann, featuring a large orange and a green maple leaf.
Book cover titled "What Will Help Me?" with a yellow flower illustration and subtitle "12 Things To Remember When You Have Suffered A Loss," authored by James E. Miller.
A book cover with a large red heart and the words 'you are not alone' inside it, titled 'Love Letters from Loss Mom to Loss Mom' by Emily R. Long, surrounded by white flowers.
Hand holding a book titled "You Are the Mother of All Mothers" with a background of grass and feet in blue sneakers.

Books for Preschoolers (ages 2-5)

Cover of a children's book titled 'Abuela' by Arthur Dorros, illustrated by Elisa Kleven, featuring an elderly woman with gray hair in a red skirt with stars, holding hands with a young girl in a colorful striped skirt, flying over a cityscape.
The cover of a children's activity book titled 'After a Death,' featuring colorful abstract watercolor splashes.
Cover of the children's book titled "Always and Forever" by Debi Gliori and Alan Durant, featuring an illustration of a bunny, fox, bear, and dog with a background of daisies.
Cover of a children's book titled 'Drawing Together to Learn about Feelings', featuring colorful illustrations of five children smiling and lying on the grass in a circle.
Book cover titled 'Flying Hugs and Kisses' featuring a man with six children, one holding a red heart-shaped balloon, others holding balloons and hugging, with a light blue background and yellow border.
Cover of a children's book titled 'Goodbye Mousie' by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Jan Ormerod. It features a young child with brown hair holding a small mouse.
Book cover titled "I Know Someone Who Died" by Connie Manning, featuring a butterfly with a yellow body, orange wings with black and yellow markings, and a purple and yellow flower border at the bottom.
A children’s book cover titled "First Look at Death" with an illustration of a girl sitting on a pink rug, holding a stuffed animal, with a small dog lying nearby, and the words "I Miss You" above her.
Book titled 'Jungle Journey: Growing and Remembersing Eleanor the Elephant' with an illustration of an elephant in a jungle setting.
Book cover titled 'Lifetimes: The beautiful way to explain death to children' by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen, featuring an illustration of a peaceful green river with trees and a boat in a natural setting.
Cover of the children's book 'Lilip's Wish' by Jonathan London and Sylvia Long, featuring two dogs dressed in pajamas looking at a starry night sky through a window.
Colorful children's book cover titled "Missing Hannah" by Darlene Kane, featuring a rainbow and two stick figures holding hands.
Book cover titled 'Molly's Rosebush' with an illustrated girl holding a pink flower, written by Janice Cohen and illustrated by Gail Owens.
Children looking at a large yellow balloon from a children's book titled 'My Yellow Balloon' by Tiffany Papageorge, illustrated by Erwin Madrid.
Cover of a book titled "Nadia the Willful" by Sue Alexander, with illustrations by Lloyd Bloom, featuring a young girl with long hair and large earrings, wearing traditional clothing, surrounded by a background with animal silhouettes.
Illustration of a young person standing between trees holding a framed photograph, with the title 'Perfectly Imperfect Family' at the top and author credits at the bottom.
Cover of a children's book titled "Sad Isn't Bad: A Good-Grief Guidebook for Kids Dealing with Loss". The illustration shows a sad young boy sitting on a yellow and green checkered couch, with a green hat, a green shirt, and blue pants. He appears to
Illustration of a baby sitting in a rocking chair being rocked by an adult, with the text "Someone came before you" and a yellow star.
Book cover for 'The Dead Bird' by Margaret Wise Brown, with illustrations of children and greenery.
Book cover titled "The Fall of Freddie the Leaf" by Leo Buscaglia, featuring autumn leaves and a gold seal.
Book cover titled 'The Giant' by Claire Ewart, featuring a boy with a large hat in profile and a girl with long blond hair looking upward, against a cloudy sky background.
Book cover titled 'The Goodbye Book' by Todd Parr, featuring a fishbowl with two fish, one green and one orange, on a yellow and blue background.
Cover of a children's book titled 'The Invisible String' showing a woman and two children holding the string that connects them, with a pink and blue watercolor background and grassy field.
Book cover titled 'The Tenth Good Thing About Barney' by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Erik Blegvad, featuring a family walking near a large tree with a full moon in the sky.
Book cover with a white background and yellow border, featuring the title 'This Book is for All Kids, But Especially My Sister Libby. Libby Died.' by Jack Simon, age 5.
Cover of the book "Tough Boris" by Mem Fox, illustrated by Kathryn Brown, showing a pirate with a green parrot on their shoulder on a beach.
Illustration of a baby in a bassinet with a small dog lying beside it, accompanied by handwritten text.
Book cover titled 'When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death' by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown, featuring colorful illustrations of dinosaurs, a cat, children, and a dog sitting on steps outside a house.
Cover of a children's book titled 'Where are you Lydia?' featuring colorful, hand-drawn illustrations of a girl with red hair saluting and a child with sunglasses and a hat, surrounded by clouds and a large pink balloon.
Colorful book cover titled 'Where's Jess?' featuring a large pink heart with a multicolored butterfly on it and a small smiling flower with yellow petals and purple leaves.
Book cover titled "Where Do They Go?" by Julia Alvarez, illustrated by Sabra Field, featuring a silhouette of a woman holding a child's hand.

Books for School Age (ages 5-12)

Book cover titled 'Arvy Aardvark Finds Hope' by Donna O'Toole, illustrated by Kore Loy McWhirter, featuring an aardvark and a smaller animal in a field with a cloudy sky.
Book cover titled 'After a Death: An Activity Book for Children' with colorful abstract paint splashes in the background.
Book cover titled 'Always and Forever' featuring illustrated animals including a rabbit, fox, bear, including a beaver, all hugging and surrounded by small white flowers with yellow centers on a blue background.
Book cover titled "Always Sisters" featuring two young girls with their backs turned, sitting on a park bench amid colorful flowers and a soft dreamy background.
Book cover titled 'Angel Catcher for Kids' by Amy Ellie, featuring an orange butterfly with black spots and white antennae, surrounded by yellow flowers and stars on a blue background.
Book cover for "Badger's Parting Gifts" by Susan Varley, featuring illustrated animals by a river, including badgers and other woodland creatures.
Book cover for 'Bridge to Terabithia' by Katherine Paterson featuring a large tree with a swing and a small treehouse in a bright, green forest setting.
Cover of a book titled 'Drawing Together to Learn about Feelings' featuring colorful illustrations of children lying on the grass in a circle, smiling and engaging with each other.
A squirrel sitting on a branch in a tree with hanging green leaves, blue sky background, and the book title 'Gentle Willow' with the subtitle 'A Story for Children About Dying' by Joyce C. Mills, Ph.D., illustrated by Cary Pillo.
Child with brown hair gazing at a small white mouse on their hand from the book cover of 'Goodbye Mousie'
Book cover titled 'Help Me Say Goodbye' with a sun, a house, and a grassy hill.
Cover of a children's book titled 'Here in the Garden' by Briony Stewart, featuring a girl with short hair in a white shirt and blue shorts standing in a garden with green plants and blue flowers, and a gray rabbit.
Cover of 'I Had a Friend Named Peter' featuring a young girl sitting on the floor reading a book
Cover of a book titled "I Know Someone Who Died" by Connie Manning, third edition, featuring a butterfly with red and yellow wings, and a cluster of colorful flowers at the bottom.
Book cover of "I'll Always Love You" by Hans Wilhelm featuring a child and a dog sitting on grass with fish swimming nearby.
Cover of a children's book titled 'I Miss You' by Pat Thomas and Lesley Harker, featuring a girl with short hair in pajamas sitting on a pink rug, holding a phone, with a brown and gray kitten resting nearby, and an orange armchair with a green and w
Book cover titled "I Must Tell You Something: Runcymom's story about the sudden death of her mother" with an illustration of a mother and child lying in bed, embracing.
Book cover titled 'I wish I could hold your hand...' about child grief and loss, illustrated with a child holding a teddy bear at a window.
A children’s book cover titled "If Nathan Were Here" by Mary Bahr, illustrated by Karen A. Jerome. The cover features two children walking through a forest with backpacks, wearing hats, looking like they're exploring and pointing ahead.
Book cover titled 'Isabelle's Dream,' showing two children with angel wings in a starry night sky, one reading a book. The cover mentions it's a story and activity book for a child's grief journey, authored by Betsy Bottino Arenella and illustrated b
Cover of a book titled 'Jungle Journey: Growing and Remembering Eleanor the Elephant' with an illustration of an elephant in a jungle scene.
Book cover titled 'Learning to Say Goodbye When a Parent Dies' by Eda LeShan, with a yellow and orange circular design featuring the subtitle.
Colorful drawing of a chameleon sitting on a branch with a guitar, wearing a striped scarf, with a purple hat, next to colorful text in Spanish that reads 'Los Colores de el Amor y Dolor'.
Book cover of "Mama's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird" by Jean Little, showing a boy and girl sitting together near a window with a small cat on the windowsill.
Book cover of "Molly's Rosebush" by Janice Cohn, illustrated by Gail Owens, depicting a girl with dark hair and a pink hair tie holding a rose in her hand.
Book cover of "Moonlight Memoirs" by Maggie Mei Lewis, illustrated by Melody Lea Lamb, featuring a mouse and a black cat under a moonlit sky with a branch and a cherry in the background.
Close-up profile of a young woman with short hair, looking down, with text that reads 'My Brother Joey Died' and 'November 4, 1963'.
The book cover features an illustration of a young man and woman sitting on a picnic table outdoors, with a cityscape and cloudy sky in the background. The title is 'My Brother Stealing Second' by Jim Naughton.
Book cover titled "My Sibling Still" with an illustration of a young child looking out a window, surrounded by green bushes and a pair of pink baby shoes on the ground.
Cover of a children's book titled "My Yellow Balloon" by Tiffany Papageorge, illustrated by Erwin Madrid, featuring a young boy looking at a large yellow balloon.
Colorful collection of baby-related items surrounding a sign that reads 'No New Baby' for siblings who have lost a brother or sister before birth, including a teddy bear, baby bottle, pacifier, rubber duck, and toys.
A children's book cover titled 'One Wave at a Time: A Story About Grief and Healing' by Holly Thompson, illustrated by Ashley Crowley. The cover features a young boy standing barefoot on the beach near the water, looking down with a somber expression
Book cover titled 'Part of Me Died, Too' with colorful children's drawings and the subtitle 'Stories of Creative Survival Among Bereaved Children and Teenagers' by Virginia Lynn Fry, with a foreword by Katherine Paterson.
Book cover titled 'Perfectly Imperfect Family' shows a boy holding a framed picture, standing between two trees with green leaves.
Book cover titled 'RUDI'S POND' featuring a young girl sitting by a pond with a stone border, and a colorful hummingbird flying above it, surrounded by green leaves.
Book cover titled 'Sam's Dad Died: A Child's Book of Hope Through Grief' featuring an illustration of a young boy sitting on a tire swing, resting his head on his hand.
Book cover of "Saying Goodbye to Daddy" by Judith Vigna, depicting a woman with brown hair and a young girl with black hair, sharing a tender moment outdoors with a field, trees, and small buildings in the background.
Illustration of a young boy and a white dog with brown spots looking at each other, with a sign in the background that reads 'Since My Brother Died' in English and Spanish, along with the author's name Marisol Muñoz-Kiehne and illustrator Susana Pitz
Cover of a children's book titled "Someone Special Died" by Joan Singleton Plasencia, featuring a young girl in a white dress holding a pink book, standing on a dirt path with a tree and yellow fields in the background.
Illustration of a young girl and a man with a dog, on the cover of a book titled 'Mem Fox Sophie,' illustrated by Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson.
Book cover of 'Stacy Had A Little Sister' by Wendie C. Old, illustrated by Judith Friedman. The cover shows a young girl with red hair sitting at a table, looking sad with a spoon and cereal bowl, while her mother and an older sister are in the backg
Book cover titled 'The Best Gift for Mom' by Lee Klein, illustrated by Pam Keating, featuring a woman looking at an audience of children and adults.
Colorful illustrated book cover titled 'The Colors of Love and Loss' featuring a yellow, polka-dotted chameleon with sunglasses, a hat, sitting on a branch with a guitar beside it.
Cover of the book titled 'The Dead Bird' by Margaret Wise Brown, with pictures by Christian Robinson, featuring illustrated grass and flowers.
Book cover titled 'the Fall of Freddie the Leaf' with autumn leaves in red, orange, yellow, and green colors.
Book cover titled 'The Giant' by Claire Ewart, featuring a young boy wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat looking into the distance and a young girl with long hair looking upward, with a cloudy sky background.
Colorful hand-drawn book cover titled "The Gift Bubble" by Kerry DeBay, with the subtitle "helping kids explore and understand grief". The background is lightly colored in blue.
A drawing of two children, a boy and a girl, standing behind a table with flowers and a black object. The girl has long hair and the boy has shorter hair. There is text that says "Live Bunting," "THE HAPPY FUNERAL," and "Illustrated by Vo-Dinh Mai."
Book cover titled 'The Healing Book' with the subtitle 'Facing the Death and Celebrating the Life of Someone You Love' by Ellen Sabin, with illustrations of two children sitting and a heart with a bandage.
Book cover titled 'The Last Teenage Suicide' by Norman Geller, featuring a tree with green leaves and a swing hanging from a branch, with a noose visible hanging from the same branch.
Cover of a children's book titled 'The Memory Box: A Book About Grief' featuring a girl with blonde hair sitting on grass, reaching for a pink balloon, with a box of memory items beside her.
Cover of a children's book titled 'The Rabbit Listened' by Cori Doerrfeld, featuring an illustration of a young child with curly hair and a striped shirt hugging and comforting a pink rabbit.
Book cover titled 'The Tenth Good Thing About Barney' by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Erik Blegvad, depicting a family holding hands under a tree with a full moon in the sky.
Book cover with a yellow speech bubble background. The title reads 'This book is for all kids, but especially my sister Libby. Libby died.' by Jack Sloom, age 5.
Cover of a book titled "What's Heaven?" by Maria Shriver, with an illustration of a young girl looking up at a cloudy sky.
Book cover titled 'What on Earth Do You Do When Someone Dies?' by Trevor Romain, featuring animated children sitting on a cloud surrounded by stars.
Book cover with a yellow tombstone illustration and flowers, titled "When Someone Very Dies: Children Can Learn to Cope with Grief," written by Marge Heegaard and illustrated by children.
Book cover titled 'When Uncle Bob Died' by Althea, illustrated by Sarah Wimperis, depicting a woman reading a storybook to a young girl.
Children's book cover titled "Where Are You? A Child's Book about Loss" by Laura Olivieri, illustrated by Kristin Elder, featuring a boy in a yellow shirt and blue pants looking at the sky with clouds and the sun.
Colorful illustrated children's book cover with the title 'Where are you Lydie?' and a drawing of a girl with red hair, a large pink balloon, a figure with sunglasses, and several clouds. Written and illustrated by Emma Poore.
Colorful book cover titled 'Where's Jess?' featuring a large pink and purple heart with a butterfly with multicolored wings inside it. At the bottom, there is a yellow flower with pink petals and green leaves. The subtitle reads: 'A Centering Corpora
Book cover with a silhouette of a woman holding a child's hand, the title 'where do they go?' and the author's name Julia Alvarez, illustrated by Sabra Field.

Books for Adolescents (ages 13-19)

Book cover titled "A Time for Dancing" by Davida Willis Hurwin, featuring an illustration of two girls dancing on a beach with a blue sky and clouds in the background.
Book cover for 'Bridge to Terabithia' by Katherine Paterson, featuring a large tree with a treehouse in a green forest setting.
Book cover with the title 'Children Are Not Paper Dolls' by Erin Linn, featuring a white lotus flower on the cover.
Cover of a book titled 'Coping with the Death of a Brother or Sister' by Ruth Ann Ruiz. The cover features a girl in a blue and white shirt, holding a tissue to her face, looking at a piece of paper.
Book cover titled 'Fire in My Heart, Ice in My Veins' with a fiery, glowing heart surrounded by icy textures, and the text 'A guided grief journal for teenagers and young adults,' authored by Enid Traisman MSW, with artwork credited to Lizy J. Campbe
Book cover titled "Grieving for the Sibling You Lost" by Erica Goldblatt Hyatt with a teen girl sitting on the beach looking out at the water.
Book cover titled 'Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens' by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D., featuring a tree illustration in light purple.
A cover page of a journal titled 'I Will Never Forget You: A Teen Journal of Love and Remembrance' by Parga Emilio. There is a note indicating this is not the actual book cover.
Book cover titled "I Will Remember You," about coping with grief for teens, featuring a yellow butterfly against a purple background with clouds.
Book cover titled "Learning to Say Goodbye When a Parent Dies" by Eda LeShan, with a blue and orange design.
Cover of a book titled "Michael Rosen's SAD BOOK" by Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake, featuring a sketch of a person walking with a small bike and a backpack.
Book cover titled "Part of Me Died, Too" with colorful, childlike artwork and text about stories of creative survival among bereaved children and teenagers, authored by Virginia Lynn Fry with a foreword by Katherine Paterson.
Illustration of a boy and a small dog with a sign that says 'Since My Brother Died' in English and Spanish, with the boy looking sad.
Book cover titled 'Straight Talk About Death for Teenagers' by Earl A. Grollman, with a photo of three teenagers sitting on a park bench in a contemplative mood.
Book cover titled 'The Grieving Teen' by Helen Fitzgerald, with a graphic of a brown leaf overlapping a blue leaf at the top.
A drawing of a tree with a rope hanging from a branch. The book cover is titled "The Last Teenage Suicide" by Norman Geller.