WHEN WILL MY WOODLOUSE WAKE UP? (Sarah Tagholm, Manu Montoya)

When Will My Woodlouse Wake Up? (Andersen, 2024) is a word-perfect, heartwarming and child-focused book tackling the delicate subject of loss through the eyes of a young boy named Ross. When Ross’s beloved pear-nibbling pet woodlouse, Lord Jeffry, doesn’t wake up one morning, his big sister explains that his friend is now “definitely, incredibly dead.” The story unfolds with a mixture of humour and sensitivity, as Ross checks on all his pets and embarks on a journey to understand what happens when something dies.

The warm illustrations and voice-filled words perfectly capture the innocence and curiosity of childhood. The siblings eventually visit the library where they explore different beliefs about the afterlife. The story doesn’t shy away from the sadness of losing a pet, but the gentle humour lightens the tone, wrapping up the reader - and their sadness - in a soft and loving cuddle.

This book is perfect for families looking for a gentle, compassionate way to discuss loss, and for anyone curious about what happens after death. When Will My Woodlouse Wake Up? reminds us that while loss is final it is part of life, and that love and memory allow us to keep our loved ones close, even as we let them go.

TIBBLE AND GRANDPA (Wendy Meddour, Daniel Egneus)

Tibble and Grandpa (OUP, 2020) is a powerful and touching intergenerational story of love and resilience when living with grief. Tibble loves talking to Grandpa. But Grandpa has stopped listening. Mum says to just give him time. But Tibble wants to talk to Grandpa now. . . So Tibble tries his favourite game - TOP THREES!

The idea of top threes is a fun, child-centric and tangible idea that could easily be replicated in readers’ own lives. When Tibble talks about her top three’s, she gets Grandpa talking again and something amazing happens. A moving story about love, loss, and the wonder of families.

A superb book that tackles a difficult subject with sensitivity and a child-centred approach. Skilfully written and gorgeous artwork.

GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT (Tamara Ellis Smith, Nancy Whitesides)

Grief is an Elephant (Chronicle Books, 2023) is a compassionate and thoughtfully crafted book that acknowledges the painful reality of grief while also offering comfort. The story follows a young child who wakes up with a heavy elephant sitting on their chest. The elephant represents the child’s loss and throughout the book, the child learns to acknowledge and accept their grief, realising that it's a natural part of life.

The lyrical, soothing language and soft illustrations help make the subject of grief accessible for younger readers. The story doesn’t rush toward a resolution, mirroring the real journey of grieving and that healing doesn’t mean forgetting, but learning to coexist with loss.

A must-read for families looking to explore the complicated emotions that surround grief, and for those searching for a meaningful, sensitive way to talk about loss.

DADAJI’S PAINTBRUSH (Rashmi Sirdeshoande, Ruchi Mhasane)
Dadaji’s Paintbrush (Andersen Press, 2022) is a stunningly beautiful picture book about a young boy in a tiny Indian village who loses his grandfather. Dadaji and the boy spent all their time together, creating art, tasting delicious fruits and making paper boats to float down the monsoon river.  But after Dadaji passes away, the boy can’t bear to use the favourite paintbrush his grandfather left him.

It takes the arrival of a little girl who wants to know how to paint for the boy to see that losing a loved one can be a beginning instead of an end.

Rashmi’s text is beautifully lyrical and evocative of the Indian village setting. Ruchi’s illustrations are dreamy and gorgeously soft, adding to the love that beams through the pages of this book.

A tender, hopeful story for any child - any family - experiencing bereavement.

THE FIREFOX (Alexandra Page, Stef Murphy)

Freya and her mum take a break to a cabin after Freya's dad passes away and the light leaves their lives. Alexandra’s lyrical text and Stef’s soft and atmospheric illustrations take us with Freya as she meets a magical fox in the snow and a thrilling forest adventure unfolds.

The Fire Fox (Two Hoots, 2021) is a heart-warming bedtime book that subtly tackles the subject of grief, inspired by the Finnish Saami myth of the revontulet, suggesting that the Northern Lights are sparks that fly from the fur of the mystical fire foxes. The idea of light returning to a family's life after a bereavement is beautiful and sensitively handled.

THE MEMORY TREE (Britta Teckeuntrup)

The Memory Tree (Orchard Books, 2014) is a powerful story featuring a group of animals that gather after their friend, Fox, dies. Fox has lived a long and happy life. As the animals recall their fondest memories of him, their sad hearts fill with warmth. The animals begin to notice a small and delicate plant growing in the place where Fox died. The animals continue sharing memories and a magnificent tree grows, helping the animals to see that Fox is still a part of them even after he has died. 

The Memory Tree becomes a beautiful and accessible metaphor, showing little readers how the people we love can live on in the memories we have of them. A simple but tender and highly effective story for young children living with grief, that lends itself to planting something in memory of a loved one and reliving the actions of the characters in the story.  

DADDY’S RAINBOW (Lucy Rowland, Becky Cameron)

Daddy’s Rainbow (Bloomsbury, 2022) is a pitch perfect, important story for a child whose parent is terminally ill.

Lucy – usually known for her dynamic rhyme – writes this story beautifully in prose. It’s heart opening stuff, full of fantastic details about Erin's daddy, who sees the colour in everything.  ‘In autumn, their walks were full of crunchy red, scrunchy orange and shiny-conker brown.’ But things start to change and Mummy tells Erin that Daddy is poorly.

This story was inspired by a real life Erin who Lucy knows and is close to. It shows. Emotions pour from the pages. Becky’s light watercolour illustrations are also full of love and feeling, with a soft, fragile touch, significant for any family finding themselves in this situation.  

Despite the sadness and rawness felt when Daddy dies, the story ends with the reassuring takeaway that our loved ones live on in the memories we share and in the colour they gift to the world. Perfect for families who look to rainbows as a reminder of the people they’ve lost.

THE HAPPY HUT (Tim Hopgood)

The Happy Hut (Walker, 2023) is poignant tale that acknowledges the sadness of losing a loved one, whilst also remembering all they ways they have touched our lives. The main character takes us to Grandpa Martin’s Happy Hut; a beach hut that is filled with love and sunshine and where they have adventures whatever the weather, whatever the season. The illustrations are full of warmth, colour and joy, beautifully echoing the seaside and the loving relationship that the three children share with Grandpa. Despite the terrible storm that appears when Grandpa Martin becomes ill, Grandpa’s spirit lives on and the Happy Hut stands as a reminder of all the memories they made together.

GOODBYE HOBBS (Emma Bettridge, Josephine Birch)

This a beautiful and poetic look at loss from the point of view of a dog grieving their doggy friend, Hobbs. It is based on the clever notion that smells can be messages from those we greatly miss.

Goodbye Hobbs (Graffeg 2022) is an absolute joy to read aloud and a joy to look at - the design, the text layout, the illustrations... this book has a wonderful rhythm to the words and Josephine’s artwork is full of movement and fluidity like the wistful smells the main character chases.

This book could help readers with the death of a pet, but it could also offer reassurance for other kinds of loss, especially for those of us who find smells reminds us of someone we have loved and lost. Although if we hold onto their memory, perhaps they are not as far away as we initially think.

RABBITYNESS (Jo Empson)

One day Rabbit disappeared. The reader sees that without Rabbit the world is dull and grey. A deep, dark hole is left behind and the other rabbits are sad. They miss the colour and music that Rabbit brought into their lives. When they venture into the deep, dark hole they find some gifts that remind them of Rabbit and bring colour and music into their lives once more.

Rabbityness (Child's Play, 2012) is a unique and hopeful story about loss and about the importance of creativity and the joy that can bring us, especially during life’s challenges. The sudden disappearance means this could be especially relevant to some families experiencing an abrupt and unexpected bereavement, as opposed to the grief of an elderly loved one, which is more commonly written about.

The illustrations are emotive but vibrant, full of splashes of colour. When we lose someone it is always painful. This book is an acknowledgement of that hurt and painful, with a splash of hope.

THE POND (Nicola Davies, Cathy Fisher)

The Pond (Graffeg, 2018) is a heart wrenching story about a family struck by grief. Dad leaves a muddy, messy hole in their hearts and in their garden – a hole that was supposed to be a pond filled with tadpoles and dragonflies and water lilies.

At first the family considers filling the hole in, so no-one would ever know.

But Mum gets a liner and some stones and the family fill the hole with water. Soon a change happens and the pond becomes a vehicle for the family to talk and remember Dad.

This picture book is pitched for slightly older readers. It opens up discussion and space for the very raw feelings that come with bereavement of a loved one, especially a parent, reminding us that hope and the love of the ones we miss is there if we look for it, just like the life bubbling under the surface of a pond in the Spring.

Beautiful. Lyrical. Powerful.

THE HARE-SHAPED HOLE (John Dougherty, Thomas Docherty)

The Hare-Shaped Hole (Frances Lincoln, 2023) is a beautiful, gentle rhyming exploration of loss. Hertle and Bertle are the best of friends. They’re so glad they have each other… but their friendship ends unexpectedly. Bertle searches for Hertle everywhere, but all that remains is a Hertle-shaped hole in the air.

Readers follow Bertle as he mourns and experiences some of the stages of grief. Then Gerda the bear shares some of the things she’s learned about life and loss.

“Life’s not always happy. You’ll find as you grow,

that sometimes a person you love has to go.”

Bertle learns to fill the hare-shaped hole that Hertle leaves behind with memories of their times together. And slowly... Bertle begins to feel a little bit better. This is a poignant and touching tale about finding hope when someone you love suddenly disappears.

Beautiful, moving and sensitively-handled.

THE RIVER (Tom Percival)

The River (Simon and Schuster, 2022) uses beautiful imagery to help children deal with grief. Stunning illustrations combine with a simple lyrical text to give comfort to young readers who may be coming to terms with loss. It’s an emotive story about friendship, grief, healing and kindness.

Rowan loves playing outside with his dog and particularly loves being by the river. But one cold winter Rowan’s dog dies and the river freezes. Rowan feels cold and alone and his parents find it hard to comfort him. But rescuing and caring for an injured bird helps Rowan start to come to terms with his loss.

The frozen river represents Rowan’s grief after the death of his beloved dog. The dog’s death is only shown in the illustrations and not mentioned in the text. It’s a fabulous example of how words and pictures work together to tell a story and how often images can be more powerful than words.

The River is a heart-warming, thought-provoking story that can be used to stimulate conversations about love and loss at home or in the classroom. At some point many children will experience grief and the story sensitively helps them to understand these feelings. The river in the story is a character in its own right and provides a metaphor for Rowan’s emotions. Sometimes it’s calm. Or playful. Or angry. But as Rowan comes to terms with his loss he realises that, just like the river, his own emotions are ever changing. 

(Reviewed by Catherine Friess of Story Snug)

LEAVES - A STORY OF THE SEASONS AND THE CIRCLE OF LIFE (Stephen Hogtun)

"I will always be with you. 
Each time the wind blows, 
in your leaves is where you'll find me . . ."

Leaves (Bloomsbury 2021) is a visually stunning picture book, sensitively tackling the circle of life in an accessible way for children. The words are carefully chosen and the illustrations are warm and comforting, as we follow a young sapling's elder towards the end of their life.

The message running through the pages advocates that whilst parents grow old, they leave us strong enough to survive in their absence, with happy memories and a love to help sustain us. An invaluable picture book with a message of unconditional and enduring love.

ALL FROM A WALNUT (Ammi-Joan Paquette, Felicita Sala)

“I planted my little tree in good brown soil, so it would grow strong here forever.”
“In this house? In this yard?”
“Shall we go see?”

All From A Walnut (Harry N. Abrams, 2022) begins with main character, Emilia, waking to a walnut on her bedside table. The walnut leads to a story from Grandad about when he was little and he had to leave his home. All he could take with him was a small bag and a walnut, just like the one Emilia found. Emelia is inspired to plant her walnut – like Grandad did – and watch what happens.

But growing a walnut takes time and Grandad is getting older and slower, as if his “batteries are on low charge.” Emilia holds him close and says goodbye when the time comes.

There is a beautifully visual and accessible metaphor at the end of this book, instilling in the reader that like the walnut trees, Grandad will always be a part of her. 

THE TENTH GOOD THING ABOUT BARNEY (Judith Viorst, Erik Blegvad)

Told from a first person perspective, in The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (Prentice Hall, 1971) we learn about the death of a child's pet cat called Barney. The child is encouraged to remember ten good things about their cat as they prepare to bury him and have a funeral. Except the child can only think of nine good things.

The child learns that everything changes with time, just like the seeds the family plant around Barney's garden. The family discuss where they think Barney is now, including in the ground and in Heaven. Although Heaven is mentioned, the story is left open for the reader to decide. Ultimately they agree that Barney is helping the flowers in the garden to grow, which is an excellent job for a cat and their tenth good thing.

This is a picture book from the seventies. which is reflected in the text and illustrations, but its aims are still relevant, helping children to deal with death of a pet. This story and its theme could also apply to the death of a loved friend or family member.

GRANDPA IS HERE (Tanya Rosie, Chuck Gorenink)

Grandpa is here now, Grandpa is here now,

But here for a little while only.

I think of the things I want to show him,

And hope that these days go slowly.

Grandpa Is Here, (Walker, 2023) is a tender, gentle story about making the most of special moments with special people when time is short. With his bristly moustache and suitcase smelling of Persian spice, Grandpa and granddaughter have so much that they want to see and do together. He's brought walnuts picked from his trees at home, and sparkly saffron to make yellow rice. His granddaughter shows him all her most favourite things: the mountaintops, the tunnel she discovered, the horse in the field. If only Grandpa could stay longer, then he could see the spring. But when time together is limited, it feels all the more sweet and special.

This is a warm, authentic celebration of family reunions, told through the eyes of a kind-hearted little girl. Stunningly illustrated and rich with child-like charm, it celebrates the magical bonds between families – and grandchildren and grandparents.