Have you wanted to comfort a survivor, yet felt befuddled, hesitating to intrude awkwardly on someone’s sorrow? Does the distance feel wider when the survivor is a child? Luckily, some kind and creative folk have illustrated and authored books about death and loss for children.
My favorite is The Dead Bird, by Margaret Wise Brown (of Good Night Moon fame), illustrated by Christian Robinson. A group of colorful children discover a recently dead (still warm) bird, and bury it with loving ceremony.
However, this wasn’t my daughter’s favorite. She likes the way Todd Parr writes about feelings in The Goodbye Book, in which a red fish is sad because it’s friend, the green fish, is gone. She likes that the fish has strategies to deal with its feelings, like wondering where it’s friend went and remembering the good times they shared.
I hope these books brings comfort to whomever needs it.