Skip to main content
  • Tags: loss
Our tree named Steve
Zweibel, Alan
In a letter to his children, a father reflects upon the importance of a good friend and the value of a place to feel safe and secure. The father recalls various memories of his family as it has grown in relationship to a favorite tree that had been part of their lives since they built their home. The tree seems to help the family through many events but does not withstand a huge storm. The father uses the wood to build a tree house to continue its importance to the family.

My grandson lew
Zolotow, C.
Lew misses his grandfather who died when he was two. Although Lew was young, he can still remember his grandfather's beard and eyes. Together, Lew and his mother reminisce about someone they both loved very much.

Cricket boy
Ziner, Feenie
Hu Sing's father is asked to come to the emperor's palace to fight his champion cricket against the emperor's own champion. In trying to protect the cricket, Hu Sing accidentally kills it, and then kills himself, until he has a strange dream.

Pushkin meets the bundle
Ziefert, Harriet M.
Pushkin lives with Kate and Michael. Kate and Michael took Pushkin everywhere and did everything with him. That is, until one day when Kate and Michael brought home a bundle. They started paying attention to the bundle and not to Pushkin. The bundle was a baby. Pushkin does everything in his power to get Michael and Kate's attention. The baby always cries, too. Finally, Pushkin decides to do some of his tricks and the baby started laughing. The baby and Pushkin were best friends from then on.

Picnic with piggins
Yolen, Jane
Piggins the butler solves the mystery of Mrs. Reynard's disappearing necklace before anyone else.

Grandad bill's song
Yolen, Jane
Jon loses his grandad and needs help showing his emotions. He doesn't know if he's reacting in the right way. Jon's family shows him that everyone reacts to the death of a loved one differently, and no reaction is right or wrong.

Father's rubber shoes
Yeo, Yumi
Yungsu's family moves from Korea to America. When Yungsu goes into his new town and sees children playing, he missed his friends from Korea. Yungsu tells his mother that he wants to go back to Korea, but his father explains that their life will be better in America.

Our Gracie aunt
Woodson, Jaqueline
A brother and sister are taken into foster care with their Aunt Gracie. Aunt Gracie welcomes the kids with delicious treats and teaches them how to cook. The kids go to visit their mother and then they return to their Aunt Gracie.

My wiggly smile
Woodruff, Amira
Olive wakes up one day and finds that she has a loose tooth! She runs downstairs to tell her parents and keeps wiggling it all day, but it won't come out! At school, Olive talks to a girl named Jordan who tells her about the "My Wiggly Smile" which says to keep track of the teeth she's lost. When Olive gets home, her dad surprises her with a "My Wiggly Smile" book of her own, and they leave for the dentist where Olive's tooth is finally pulled by the dentist. That night, while she is fast asleep, the Tooth Fairy comes to visit Olive, and she wakes up with a gift under her pillow!

Christmas with grandfather
Wolf, Winfried
After the death of his father, Thomas is not looking forward to Christmas. Christmas at his grandfather's house in the country changes that when Thomas receives a special gift.

The christmas tree ship
Winter, Jeanette
Captain Herman and his crew cut trees in Michigan to deliver to the city of Chicago for Christmas. When a blizzard forms over Lake Michigan, the Captain and his crew disappear. From then on, the Captain's wife and daughters carry out the Christmas Tree Ship tradition for many years.

Daddy's roommate
Willhoite, M.
A young boy learns that a family divorce can be a tragic event. When his father moves in with another man, the boy learns that the two grown men are gay. Finally the boy learns to love each of them even though he feels uncomfortable at times.

I'll always love you
Wilhelm, Hans
A little boy grows up with his dog Elfie and they do everything together. When Elfie dies, the boy is very sad. He knows that he can get another dog, but no dog will replace Elfie.

Good-bye, daddy!
Weninger, Briggitte
Tom gets very upset when he must say goodbye to his father, who no longer lives with him and his mother. He gets so upset that he hides and cries, and then misses out on a hug. But his mother tells him a story of a young bear in the same situation who learns how to resolve the problem.

The storyteller
Weisman, Joan
Lottie moves from her Indian Pueblo village to the city. She misses her Pueblo life until she meets an old woman with whom she shares old Pueblo stories. A new friendship is made when they share their stories.

Moving
Watson, Wendy
Mom and dad move to a new house, but Muffin does not want to move. She eventually decides to try out her new house and finds that it is okay -- even though she and her parents will miss their old house.

Goodbye, Mitch
Wallace-Brodeur, Ruth
Mitch has been Michael's pet for 15 years. He is an important part of the family, and Michael loves him very much. When Mitch becomes ill, Michael has a difficult time dealing with the fact that Mitch is dying.

The never-ending greenness
Waldman, Neil
A young boy plants trees to cope with the separation and loss he feels from his father who is at war. In doing this he single handedly turns a gloomy countryside destroyed by war back into the beautiful, alive place it once was. He also starts a holiday known today as Tu b'Shvat.

Owl babies (Bebes chouettes)
Waddell, Martin
Three young owls become aware of the horror of being alone and learns to cope with the problem differently.

Lyle, lyle crocodile
Waber, Bernard
A crocodile named Lyle has a big impact on those he meets in his community. One day, a member of his family loses his job. In the end this bad event is turned around into a job well done by everyone.

Ira says goodbye
Waber, Bernard
Ira has to deal with the difficult situation of saying goodbye when Ira's best friend moves away. This proves to be just as difficult for others as it is for Ira. They learn they can still be friends even if they live an hour apart.

The tenth good thing about barney
Viorst, Judith
A young boy copes with the death of his cat by remembering what he loved about it.


Saying goodbye to daddy
Vigna, Judith
A young girl copes with the death of her father. Her mother and grandfather help her through the painful grieving after the car accident.

Mommy and me by ourselves again!
Vigna, Judith
Disappointed when her mother's ex-boyfriend forgets her birthday, Amy is comforted by her family when they give her a surprise birthday party and a special gift.

Badger's parting gifts
Varley, Susan
When Badger dies, the rest of the animals are very sad. It is not until they remember all of the good times with Badger that they get over their sadness.

Erika's story
Vander Zee, Ruth
After being thrown from a train as a baby during the Holocaust, Erika finds safety, love, and peace in the family that saves her.

The little weaver of tahi-yen village
Tuyet, Tran Khanh
Hien is a young Vietnamese girl who lives in a bombed village. She must cope with the deaths of her mother and grandmother, and is flown to the United States to have a special operation on her injured throat. She meets two nice Americans who give her a weaving loom and becomes known as the Little Weaver of Thai-Yen village.

Flags
Trottier, Maxine
A young child enjoys a neighbors garden when spending time at his grandparents house. Mr. Hinoshi's garden allows the children to learn until one day Mr. Hinoshi is taken away. The child cares for Mr Hinoshi's garden in his absence until new neighbors move in. The child plants her own garden in honor of Mr. Hiroshi. The flags are symbolically named for Japanese irises.

Little fox goes to the end of the world
Tompert, Ann
Little fox tells his mother about traveling to the end of the world. He tells elaborate stories of the things he encounters. At the end, he tells his mother that he misses her and comes straight home.

Saying goodbye to grandma
Thomas, Jane Resh
Suzie's grandma died so Suzie goes with her family to her grandparents' house for the funeral. The family experiences many emotions in different ways when dealing with her death.

Swan sky
Tejima, Keizaburo
During the winter, a young swan becomes ill and is unable to fly to her summer home. Her family stays with her until she dies, then they fly to their summer home and grieve the loss of their daughter.

Annushka's voyage
Tarbescu, Edith
When Tanya and Annushka's mother dies, their father has no choice but to leave Russia for the streets paved with gold. Several years later, the girls' father sends two tickets for their own voyage to America. Before the girls leave, their grandmother gives them each a Sabbath candlestick which will light their way to the New World. Tanya and Annushka's voyage is filled with many sick and sleepless nights. The girls unite with their father by raising their candlesticks.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly
Taback, Simms
There once was a lady who ate so much that it got her into trouble. She eats everything from a fly to a horse. In the end her body cannot take the horse and she dies. The moral of the story is stop at the cow and don't eat the horse.

I hate goodbyes
Szaj, Kathleen
Katie hates goodbyes!She would rather sing at the top of her lungs, yell at her teddy bear or wiggle her loose teeth than tell her loved ones goodbye. Her family helps her cope with goodbyes, then very soon she will be saying hellos.

Elizabeti's doll
Stuve-Boden, Stephanie
After the arrival of her new baby brother, Elizabeti, from Tanzania, sees her mother care for him and she decides she wants a doll to care for herself. She does everything her mother does to her 'doll' and also faces the problem of losing her. Elizabeti also teaches the reader a little about her culture.

My little foster sister
Stanek, Muriel
An only child is upset about a foster child temporarily living in her home, but then she grows to love the child as a sister. A bond grows between them through reading, singing, and playing together. The little girl grieves when the foster child is adopted by her aunt and uncle.

After charlotte's mom died
Spelman, Cornelia
Charlotte lost her mother only six months ago, so she and her father still grieve a lot over the death. Charlotte gets into a fight at school and has to see a therapist, Anna. Anna helps Charlotte to bring out her emotions which establishes a better bond between her and her father.

Judge rabbit and the tree spirit: A tale from cambodia
Spagnoli, Cathy
A newly married couple is separated when the husband is called to war. An evil tree spirit sees how sad the man is and decides to take his place. The spirit takes the form of the man and lives with his wife. The man returns from the war to find the spirit.

Do you remember?
Smith, Sydney
A boy and his mother trade memories while lying together on the bed. In the darkness of the night, they remember things of their past. The move from their house to an apartment with their belongings is part of their memory making. The boy asks his mother if the moments of remembering could also be a memory.

A toothbrush tale
Smith, Stacy
A little boy goes to sleep one night without brushing his teeth, and then he hears a song coming from his bathroom. When he goes to investigate the noise, he finds his toothbrush singing and dancing about why it is so important to brush his teeth every morning and night. Scared that he will develop cavities (or even worse, that his teeth might fall out), the little boy brushes his teeth well and continues to do so every day in order to keep a healthy smile!

Desser the best ever cat
Smith, Margaret
A little girl learns all about the hardships of losing a pet. However, her love for Desser is not lost in his death. Instead, she chooses to keep her memories of Desser alive. Even after Ginger, the new kitten, joins the family the little girl still chooses to remember Desser as the best ever cat

The monster in the third dresser drawer
Smith, Janice Lee
In this collection of stories, Adam is very upset about his family's move to a new town.

The phone booth in Mr. Hirota's garden
Smith, Heather
Makio and his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, loved looking out at the ocean every morning while watching Makio’s father and Mr. Hirota’s daughter working. One day, a tsunami came and killed their family members, prompting Mr. Hirota to build a telephone booth as a way to cope with his grief. Soon after,  Makio and Mr. Hirota began speaking into a disconnected telephone while communicating with the loved ones they lost.

Irene jennie and the christmas masquerade: The johnkankus
Smalls, Irene
Irene Jennie, a young girl living on a plantation, is sad when she can't spend Christmas with her parents. She prays for things to change and a Christmas parade cheers her up. As she watches the parade with her godmother, she receives a nice surprise.

Fred
Simmonds, Posy
The night that Sophie and Nick bury their beloved cat, they find all of his cat friends outside. They find out their cat was famous and the other cats wanted to have a party to say goodbye.

Toddlecreek post office
Shulevitz, Uri
The village of Toddlecreek is very small, but it has a post office that is the heart of the village. A postal inspector comes and decides to close the post office. After this, the village is never the same.

Nate the great and the boring beach bag
Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman
Nate the Great is at the beach when Oliver, the pest, loses his beach bag. With the help of his dog, Sludge, and information from other children on the beach, Nate successfully solves the case of the missing bag.

Blue
Seeger, Laura Vaccaro
A boy and his dog go through their lives together and experience different things associated with the color blue. Whether they are playing with blue butterflies or picking blue blueberries together, they love spending time with each other. One day, the boy’s dog passes away and, with time, he gets a new puppy to share his life with.

Dear daddy
Schindel, John
Jesse really wants to visit his father who lives far away. Jesse and his dad write letters back and forth to pass the time until Jesse can visit in the summer.