Children's Books about Grief
I recently ordered five children's books off of Amazon.com that are specifically written to help children work through the process of grieving the loss of a significant person in their life. Three of the five were written from a Christian perspective. I have been extremely impressed with all five books.
The first book is "Samantha Jane's Missing Smile" by Julie Kaplow and Donna Pincus. This book is written about a third grade girl whose father died. I really liked how this book talked about all the possible emotions a child that age could have with the death of a parent and how memories keep that person a continuing part of the child's life. This book is not written from a Christian perspective and does not talk about heaven, but rather focuses on the feelings of loss and the importance of memories and not feeling guilty for being happy at times and having fun. Samantha-Janes-Missing-Smile-
The second book is "The Invisible String" by Patrice Karst. This book also is not written from a Christian perspective, but talks about love as an invisible string that connects us together with those with love, whether they are here on this earth or in heaven. This doesn't specifically focus on death, although it is mentioned briefly. An excellent book for reassuring a child who is grieving the loss of one parent and fearful of losing the other parent. Invisible-String-
The third book is "What is Heaven Like?" by Beverly Lewis. This book is written from a Christian perspective. This is a beautifully written story, with viewpoints from many different people about heaven, including a biblical perspective. I wish that I had this book in the first days after Scott's death when Jaelyn was questioning what heaven is like. What-Heaven-Like-
The fourth book is "Heaven is for Real for kids" by Todd and Sonja Burpo. This is a story written by a little boy who experienced heaven and came back to tell about it. Jaelyn did not want to read this book. She couldn't explain why, but I didn't push it. I did skim through the book and was very impressed with the way it was written. I felt that this book was as well written as the book noted above by Beverly Lewis.Heaven-Real-Kids-
The fifth book is "Someone I Love Died" by Christine Harder Tangvald. This book was perhaps the most impressive of the five and the most valuable in the first days after the death. I wish that I had this book prior to the funeral. If you know a young child facing the death of someone close to them, this would be the first book that I would recommend you purchase. It walks through every aspect following death -- the funeral, etc with places for the child to draw pictures, fill in blanks with names, feelings, memories, etc. It really encourages conversation between the child and an adult. I did not read this yet with Jaelyn as I only got it a few days ago and really need time to work through it with her. This book requires much more time and thought in reading it. This book is also written from a Christian perspective.Someone-Love
Three of these books (Samantha Jane's Missing Smile, What is Heaven Like?, and Someone I Love Died) all have sections in the back for parents specifically with tips in helping children work through the grief process. I would highly recommend that churches keep at least the three books noted here on hand to provide to families with young children when a parent or close family member dies. I wish that I had these books in the first week after Scott's death.
Jaelyn and I read four of these books together tonight. I wasn't sure if I would be able to read these books without crying myself. I did get a little bit choked up at times. Jaelyn didn't talk much while reading these books or afterward, but I know that she is a thinker. I believe that she will come back and ask questions or start conversations based on what she has thought about from these books. Then again, there is a good possibility that these books answered questions that she might not have know how to ask.
The first book is "Samantha Jane's Missing Smile" by Julie Kaplow and Donna Pincus. This book is written about a third grade girl whose father died. I really liked how this book talked about all the possible emotions a child that age could have with the death of a parent and how memories keep that person a continuing part of the child's life. This book is not written from a Christian perspective and does not talk about heaven, but rather focuses on the feelings of loss and the importance of memories and not feeling guilty for being happy at times and having fun. Samantha-Janes-Missing-Smile-
The second book is "The Invisible String" by Patrice Karst. This book also is not written from a Christian perspective, but talks about love as an invisible string that connects us together with those with love, whether they are here on this earth or in heaven. This doesn't specifically focus on death, although it is mentioned briefly. An excellent book for reassuring a child who is grieving the loss of one parent and fearful of losing the other parent. Invisible-String-
The third book is "What is Heaven Like?" by Beverly Lewis. This book is written from a Christian perspective. This is a beautifully written story, with viewpoints from many different people about heaven, including a biblical perspective. I wish that I had this book in the first days after Scott's death when Jaelyn was questioning what heaven is like. What-Heaven-Like-
The fourth book is "Heaven is for Real for kids" by Todd and Sonja Burpo. This is a story written by a little boy who experienced heaven and came back to tell about it. Jaelyn did not want to read this book. She couldn't explain why, but I didn't push it. I did skim through the book and was very impressed with the way it was written. I felt that this book was as well written as the book noted above by Beverly Lewis.Heaven-Real-Kids-
The fifth book is "Someone I Love Died" by Christine Harder Tangvald. This book was perhaps the most impressive of the five and the most valuable in the first days after the death. I wish that I had this book prior to the funeral. If you know a young child facing the death of someone close to them, this would be the first book that I would recommend you purchase. It walks through every aspect following death -- the funeral, etc with places for the child to draw pictures, fill in blanks with names, feelings, memories, etc. It really encourages conversation between the child and an adult. I did not read this yet with Jaelyn as I only got it a few days ago and really need time to work through it with her. This book requires much more time and thought in reading it. This book is also written from a Christian perspective.Someone-Love
Three of these books (Samantha Jane's Missing Smile, What is Heaven Like?, and Someone I Love Died) all have sections in the back for parents specifically with tips in helping children work through the grief process. I would highly recommend that churches keep at least the three books noted here on hand to provide to families with young children when a parent or close family member dies. I wish that I had these books in the first week after Scott's death.
Jaelyn and I read four of these books together tonight. I wasn't sure if I would be able to read these books without crying myself. I did get a little bit choked up at times. Jaelyn didn't talk much while reading these books or afterward, but I know that she is a thinker. I believe that she will come back and ask questions or start conversations based on what she has thought about from these books. Then again, there is a good possibility that these books answered questions that she might not have know how to ask.
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