Best Grief Books for Kids Ages 5-7

Grief is the natural, normal and necessary response to loss. It is made up of many different emotions – ranging from sadness to anger to guilt and everything in between. Adjusting to loss in a long process and is unique to each and every person. Kids and adults face the same jumble of confusing emotions. Books can be an important tool for understanding emotions and sparking conversation. The following books have been chosen as the top choices for children aged 5-7. Make sure to also check out our recommended books for grieving the loss of a parent, sibling, friend, grandparent, and anticipatory grief.

Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain death to Children, by Bryan Mellonie**

Lifetimes is a moving book for children of all ages, even parents too. It lets us explain life and death in a sensitive, caring, beautiful way. Lifetimes tells us about beginnings, endings, and about living in between. With large, wonderful illustrations, it tells about plants, animals, and people. It shows that dying is as much a part of living as being born. Link to Purchase

Grief is a Mess, by Jackie Schuld**

Grief is a Mess is an illustrated book for grieving children and adults who need a healthy dose of understanding, comfort, and laughter. Through humorous animal illustrations, the book explores how grief is different for everyone and can change without warning. Having lost her mother to cancer, author/illustrator Jackie Schuld uses her illustrations to remind us to be kind to others and patient with ourselves as we find our way through the mess of grief. Link to Purchase

The Heart and the Bottle, by Oliver Jeffers**

When a small girl loses her father, her only parent, she decides “the best thing” is to put her heart in a bottle and hang it around her neck. All the bubbly curiosity that had made her sparkle disappears, “but at least her heart was safe.” Not until the girl, now considerably older, meets “someone smaller and still curious about the world” is her heart restored to her. Link to Purchase

The ABCs of Grief, by Jessica Correnti

Grief is messy and complicated. The ABCs of Grief is a children’s book that walks through each letter of the alphabet to unpack different aspects of the grief experience. This is the perfect book for children facing grief related to: death, moving, illness, traumatic medical experiences, new diagnoses, natural and manmade disasters, big changes with school or other activities, feeling ‘different’ from others, abuse, immigration, foster care, absent or distant caregivers, and more. The book includes a QR code that takes you to a freebie download including 30 activities for grieving kids. Link to Purchase

Fox and the Feather / El Zorro y la Pluma, by Kendall Lanning**

This children’s book (bilingual) gives hope to the grieving heart and can also help open conversations on death, grief, and loss. The book also includes activities for children and resources for their caregivers. Link to Purchase.

Death is Stupid, by Anastasia Higgenbotham**

When someone we love dies, adults often say things like, She’s in a better place now, or I know how you feel. You do not, one little boy thinks after his grandma passes away. Caught in the swirl of anger, confusion, and fear that accompanies grief and mourning, he doesn’t just think death is unfair–he thinks death is stupid. It takes him some time, but when he starts sharing cherished memories of his grandma and working in her garden, he starts to feel just a little bit better. Necessary, beautiful, and ultimately reassuring, Death Is Stupid helps make death a little less scary–for kids and adults. Link to Purchase

The Rabbit Listened, by Cori Doerrfeld**

When something sad happens, Taylor doesn’t know where to turn. All the animals are sure they have the answer. The chicken wants to talk it out, but Taylor doesn’t feel like chatting. The bear thinks Taylor should get angry, but that’s not quite right either. One by one, the animals try to tell Taylor how to act, and one by one they fail to offer comfort. Then the rabbit arrives. All the rabbit does is listen . . . which is just what Taylor needs. Link to Purchase

Chester Raccoon and the Acorn Full of Memories, by Audrey Penn**

Chester Raccoon’s good friend Skiddel Squirrel has had an accident and will not be returning – ever. Chester is upset that he won’t get to play with his friend anymore. Mrs. Raccoon suggests that Chester and his friends create some memories of Skiddel, so that they will have good memories when they miss him. Chester, his brother Ronny, and their friends decide to gather at the pond, where they combine their memories and create a touching celebration of their friend’s life. Link to Purchase

When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death, by Laurie Krasny Brown**

Straightforward and comprehensive, this indispensable book is a comforting aid to help young kids and families through a difficult time in their lives. No one can really understand death, but to children, the passing away of a loved one can be especially perplexing and troublesome. This is true whether the loss is a family member, friend, or pet. Here to offer advice and reassurance are the wise dinosaurs from the bestselling Dino Tale series. This succinct and thorough guide helps dispel the mystery and negative connotations associated with death, providing answers to kids’ most-often asked questions. Link to Purchase

The Memory Box: A Book About Grief, by Joanna Rowland**

From the perspective of a young child, Joanna Rowland artfully describes what it is like to remember and grieve a loved one who has died. The child in the story creates a memory box to keep mementos and written memories of the loved one, to help in the grieving process. Heartfelt and comforting, The Memory Box will help children and adults talk about this very difficult topic together. The unique point of view allows the reader to imagine the loss of any they have loved – a friend, family member, or even a pet. A parent guide in the back includes information on helping children manage the complex and difficult emotions they feel when they lose someone they love, as well as suggestions on how to create their own memory box. Link to Purchase

The Yellow Suitcase, by Meera Sriram

When they arrive at her grandmother’s house, it’s filled with strangers—and no Grandma. Asha’s grief and anger are compounded by the empty yellow suitcase usually reserved for gifts to and from Grandma, but when she discovers a gift left behind just for her, Asha realizes that the memory of her grandmother will live on inside her, no matter where she lives. Link to Purchase

Why Do I Feel So Sad? A Grief Book for Children, by Tracy Lambert-Prater

This book is an inclusive, age-appropriate, illustrated kid’s book designed to help young children understand their own grief. The examples and beautiful illustrations are rooted in real life, exploring the truth of loss and change, while remaining comforting and hopeful. Broad enough to encompass many forms of grief, this book reassures kids that they are not alone in their feelings and even suggests simple things they can do to feel better, like drawing, dancing, and talking to friends and family. Link to Purchase

Where Do They Go?, By Julia Alvarez

Bestselling novelist (How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents) and children’s (The Tia Lola Stories) author Julia Alvarez’s new picture book is a beautifully crafted poem for children that gently addresses the emotional side of death. The book asks, When somebody dies, where do they go? / Do they go where the wind goes when it blows? … Do they wink back at me when I wish on a star? Do they whisper, ‘You’re perfect, just as you are’? … Illustrated by Vermont woodcut artist, Sabra Field, Where Do They Go? is a beautiful and comforting meditation on death, asking questions young readers might have about what happens to those they love after they die. Link to Purchase

Where’s Jess For Children Who Have a Brother or Sister Die, by Marvin Johnson

A helpful, very simple and easy to understand book for children, ages 3-7, who have had an infant sibling die, after living for a time at home. Illustrated by Paris Sieff, age 8. Link to Purchase

A Terrible Thing Happened, by Margaret M. Holmes**

Sherman Smith saw the most terrible thing happen. At first he tried to forget about it, but something inside him started to bother him. He felt nervous and had bad dreams. Then he met someone who helped him talk about the terrible thing, and made him feel better. This gently told and tenderly illustrated story is for children who have witnessed any kind of violent or traumatic episode, including physical abuse, school or gang violence, accidents, homicide, suicide, and natural disasters such as floods or fire. An afterword by Sasha J. Mudlaff written for parents and other caregivers offers extensive suggestions for helping traumatized children, including a list of other sources that focus on specific events. Link to Purchase

The Invisible String, by Patrice Karst**

Specifically written to address children’s fear of being apart from the ones they love, The Invisible String delivers a particularly compelling message in today’s uncertain times that though we may be separated from the ones we care for, whether through anger, or distance or even death, love is the unending connection that binds us all, and, by extension, ultimately binds every person on the planet to everyone else. Link to Purchase

The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, by Leo Buscaglia**

This story by Leo Buscaglia is a warm, wonderfully wise and strikingly simple story about a leaf names Freddie. How Freddie and his companion leaves change with the passing seasons, finally falling to the ground with winter’s snow, is an inspiring allegory illustrating the delicate balance between life and death. Link to Purchase

I Miss You: A First Look at Death, by Pat Thomas

When a close friend or family member dies, it can be difficult for children to express their feelings. This book helps boys and girls understand that death is a natural complement to life, and that grief and a sense of loss are normal feelings for them to have following a loved one’s death. Link to Purchase

Gentle Willow, by Joyce C. Mills

Written for children who may not survive their illness or for the children who know them, this tale helps address feelings of disbelief, anger, and sadness, along with love and compassion. Amanda and Little Tree discover that their friend Gentle Willow isn’t feeling very well. Link to Purchase

Edna, by Susan Paradis**

This book is for anyone who has been affected by a variety of difficulties – grief, loss, anxiety, bullying, or trauma. Edna, a young elephant, is deeply troubled by bad memories. She tries to hide them but becomes trapped by them instead. One day Ms. Maxwell arrives and patiently offers to help. Together they work hard to untangle Edna’s thoughts and feelings. Edna depicts Edna’s journey from shame and helplessness to hope, trust, and, ultimately, joy. Link to Purchase

Magnificent Marvelous Me!, by Art With Heart

Magnificent Marvelous Me! is a therapeutic activity book designed to help kids dealing with trauma or adversity. Blending therapeutic principles with world-class illustration, this 48-page book contains engaging activities that provide emotional support for kids. This resource was designed to decrease kid’s sense of isolation and helplessness, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, provide a safe place for confusing feelings, and help build resilience and coping skills. Link to Purchase

Draw It Out, by Art With Heart

Draw It Out is a therapeutic activity book for elementary-aged kids with complex and confusing emotions. Draw It Out invites kids to share their emotions, identify their support system, and clarify misconceptions—validating and normalizing their experiences. By encouraging expression and discussion, Draw It Out provides a creative vehicle for developing a visual and verbal vocabulary for loss, as well as a supportive structure to teach social and emotional learning strategies while building resilience. Link to Purchase

Please let us know if you have any favorites that we are missing. Email Sarah

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