Summer Resource Hub for Grieving Youth and Families

Summer can be a season of both reflection and change – especially for families navigating grief & loss. With school on pause and routines shifting, this time of year may bring new challenges, but also new ways to connect and adapt. Our Summer Resource Hub is here to support you. Thoughtfully curated, it offers recommended books, insightful articles, and meaningful activities to support grieving youth and the caregivers who walk alongside them. Whether you’re looking for quiet moments of comfort or ways to process big emotions together, this hub is a steady companion through the summer season.

Click to jump the following:

Activities | Summer Reading List | Caregiver Guidebook | Videos | Articles | Apps | Back To School | Support Programs

Activities:

• Family Touchpoint
• Memory Story Cards – Summer Edition
• Memory Garden
• Photo Scavenger Hunt
• Meaningful Messages
• Kindness ROCKS!
• Family Vision Board
• Stepping In & Out of Grief
• Forever Blended

Summer Reading List:

Ages 2-5

• • Lifetimes: A Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children, by Bryan Mellonie
  • The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld**
  • You’ll Always Be by Callie Fryt**
  • Where Do They Go? by Julia Alvarez
  • The Invisible String by Patrice Karst**

Ages 5-7

• • Grief is a Mess by Jackie Schuld**
  • The ABCs of Grief by Jessica Correnti
  • Goodbye by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, Isabel Roxas**
  • The Memory Box: A Book About Grief by Joanna Rowland**

Ages 7-12

• • One Wave at a Time by Holly Thompson**
  • Cape by Kevin Johnson**
  • Death is Stupid by Anastasia Higgenbotham**
  • The House that Lou Built by Mae Respicio**

Ages 13 – 18

• • All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson**
  • What the Seahorse Told Me by Mary Knight**
  • Speak of Me As I Am by Sonia Belasco

Caregiver Guidebook:

• Eluna’s Caregiver Guidebook includes supportive insights & interactive activities to accompany caregivers through the waves of grief & loss. With a personal tone, the Guidebook welcomes & walks alongside caregivers with the guiding principle, “How do we grieve together as a family?”

Videos:

• Sesame Workshop: Re-grieving as Seasons Change
• How do you help a grieving friend?
• How to use Creative Expression for Grief Support

Articles:

• Caring for your Camper after Camp
• How to Honor & Remember Someone Who Died – A Family Centered Approach
• Grief by Age: Developmental Stages and Ways to Help

Apps:

• Apps for Grieving Kids
• Apps for grieving adults

Back to School:

• Back to School: Remember That Transitions Can Be Tough for Grieving Students
• Supporting Grieving Students in the School Setting: A Guide for School Personnel

Support Programs:

• Camp Erin® is the largest national free grief camp network for kids, teens, and families grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. A variety of day, overnight, and online camp programs empower youth and their adult caregivers to explore their grief, build coping skills, and have fun in a supportive community through a mix of grief support and camp activities. 
• Camp Erin Online provides free, online support for families to come together, learn ways to navigate grief, and connect with others who have shared experiences. Through ongoing family grief support groups and creative grief expression events, families can be intentional about setting aside time and space to reconnect and remember together.
• The Eluna Resource Center offers confidential, personalized support in English and Spanish as well as a comprehensive online library of resources and referrals for youth and families impacted by addiction, grief and related complex challenges. On a mission to educate and equip, the Eluna Resource Center also offers Community Conversations, Care Packages, and the ability to save and share customized lists of resources within your community.

**Eluna is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and a percentage of your purchase will generate a commission to directly support The Eluna Resource Center.