We will all, at some point, be confronted with loss. As parents, we hope to spare our children from the most devastating forms that loss can take: losing a parent, a sibling, a friend. But it does happen, and we don't always know how to help our children, especially when we, ourselves, are grieving.
Here are a few books that families within the Mi Casa Es Tu Casa® community have found helpful over the years as we have witnessed the loss of deeply loved parents, grandparents, siblings and others.
On a smaller scale, our children are confronted often with having to temporarily separate from a parent, whether it's for daycare, sleeping, travel, or just so mama can go for a walk alone.
Some of these books deal with daily and ongoing separation anxiety, while others take on the heavy question of how to process the loss of someone forever.
No matter why you are here accessing this list, our whole hearts are with you.
by Patrice Karst
People who love each other are always connected by an invisible string, she explains. When asked "How far can the string reach?" by her children, she answers "Anywhere and everywhere."
By Tom Tinn-Disbury
This book picks up with a little boy after his mothers has passed away. We see, through his eyes, how hard it sometimes is for his dad. Billy misses his mother terribly and imagines that she has a special cloud from where she looks down on him. One day he gets a ladder out from the shed and even tries to climb up to her.
When it doesn't work, his daddy is there to comfort him and they talk together about how they feel.
By Kelly Oriard w/ Callie Christensen
"The piece of your heart where their love settled in and changed you forever can still remember them."
Sprite walks Fox through the various emotions he'll feel as he remembers someone he lost, and lets him know all feelings are ok and that he's no alone.
By Bonnie Zucker
This book shows a mommy being sad with her little boy, and experiencing different emotions. It's important for children to see grownups being sad and experiencing a full range of emotions.
It walks you through their process of losing and grieving the little boy's grandmother, opening up the conversation for you with your own little one.
By Amy Krouse Rosenthal
This meditative book is helpful for children with separation anxiety.
"That blinking star? That's me winking at you. That inviting ocean? That's me waving at you."
The mother in this story assures her little boy that love is everywhere, in everything he sees. She's always with him "whether together or apart."
By Oliver Jeffers
This beautiful book gently and creatively illustrates how important it is to allow yourself to feel every emotion that comes with deep loss.
The little girl in the story lives with her father, but the chair where you mother used to sit looms large in her heart.
We are highlighting the Spanish translation of this book because we love it and we know there's a need. But the original version, The Heart and The Bottle, is in English and you can get it here.
By Meg Medina
This is a story about 2 little girls who are neighbors and see each other every day--they are the best of friends.
But the book begins when one of them is packing up boxes to move to a different state.
The message that a friend can leave an impression on your heart and stay with you forever is strong and beautifully told in this book about deep, important childhood friendship. You can also get the English version: Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away.
By Cornelia Maude Spelman
This simple book with sweet illustrations helps children acknowledge the different things in life that might make us feel sad, including when we want to be with somebody and they are not there.
And it talks through some things you can do when you feel sad, like tell somebody how you feel.
This is a list that has grown organically. If you have any suggestions for books that helped you process loss, grief, separation anxiety, please email us at info@bebesocial.com.