Supporting Bereaved Children

Books for Children

• Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children by Bryan Mellonie | any loss, ages 5+ 
  
  
• Something Very Sad Happened by Bonnie Zucker | any loss, but the illustrations show a woman with a child talking about the loss of someone else, ages 2-4 
  
  
• The Goodbye Book by Todd Parr | any loss, 4-9 
  
  
• Death is Stupid by Anastasia Higginbotham | any loss, but follows the death of a grandparent, ages 4-9 
  
  
• The Memory Book: A Grief Journal for Children and Families by Joanna Rowland | Includes prompted journaling pages and space for photos, ages 5+
  
  
• Michael Rosen's Sad Book by Michael Rosen | any loss, ages 5+ 
  
  
• Missing Mommy by Rebecca Cobb | mom loss, ages 5+ 
  
  
• Goodbye Mousie by Robie Harris | pet loss, ages 4-9
  
  
• A Terrible Thing Happened by Sasha Mudlaff | for a child who has witnessed trauma, ages 4-8 | Indiebound
  
• Rudi's Pond by Eve Bunting | friend loss, ages 4-8 | Indiebound
  
  
• The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld | empathy, ages 4+
  
  
• Remembering Ethan by Lesléa Newman | A child who loses her older brother. Addresses a child navigating the shifting dynamic with their parents, ages 5+
  
  
• Sitting Shiva by Erin Silver | A beautiful, heartfelt story about grief and loss, but also about comfort and community. Explains the purpose of a few traditional Jewish practices during grief, ages 4+ | Indiebound

Guidance

• What’s Your Grief’s post on childhood grief and how age influences understanding
  
  
• Modern Loss’ post on tantrums after loss
  
  
• The Tasks of Childhood Grief by Crossroads Hospice, which includes signs that your child is struggling with their grief. 

Centers

While you may not live local to these centers, they provide a number of wonderful resources online. 

• Dougy Center (Portland, OR) hosts support groups for local families and lots of useful information on their website for children of all ages. Their tips sheets are a great place to start. The Dougy Center also produces a podcast. 
  
  
• Our House Grief Support Center (Los Angeles, CA) is another large support center for grief (serves children and adults). Their child support page offers a number of helpful articles, including how to talk to children about suicide and overdose. They also have a children’s book list. 
  
  
• Judi’s House (Denver, CO) Infographics looking at childhood grief nationwide and other grief support resources.
  
  
• Lighthouse for Grieving Children (Oakville, Ontario) Supportive literature, book recommendations, and consultations. 

Opportunities for Connection

There are also camps dedicated to bereavement for families or children. Having worked as a volunteer at one of these camps, I can share that it’s an amazing opportunity for connection and support. 

• Camps in Massachusetts
  
  
• Experience Camps (in GA, ME, MI, CA, PA)
  
  
• Camps Nationwide