Human Relations Book Lists

"Xiao Le's grandmother lives in a faraway village. A visit with Grandma is always a special event, but this time she is frail. With encouragement from his mom, Xiao Le plays with and helps Grandma. When Grandma dies shortly thereafter, Xiao Le comforts his mom."

Everett Anderson's Goodbye is a touching portrait of a little boy who is trying to come to grips with his father's death.

When a loved one dies, it can be hard to know how to explain it to a young child, particularly if you are grieving the loss yourself. Sensitively written and gently illustrated, Something Very Sad Happened explains death in developmentally appropriate terms for two-and three-year-old childern. It reassures the child that it is okay to feel sad, and that love never dies.

'Hey! I think you should know that there is nothing your parents are more proud of... than YOU!' This simple graphic story helps children whose parents are separating to feel better. The book says why some parents have to live in different places, reminds the child how special they are to both parents, and reassures them that both parents will keep looking after them, and love them just as before. Getting to the heart of what children need to hear in what can be a confusing time, the story lets your child know that they are loved and safe, and that this will not change. Ideal for children aged 3-7.

"When a mother and daughter are separated by the mother's incarceration, they find a special way to keep their loving relationship alive."

"A father's drinking causes pain and embarrassment to his family, until he begins to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings."

"Four-year-old Tommy enjoys his relationship with both his grandmother and great-grandmother, but eventually learns to face their inevitable death."

Tim lives with his mom. His dad lives in another town. But today, Tim's dad is coming on the train so the two can spend the whole day together -- just Tim and Dad. Everywhere the pair goes -- the movie theater, the pizzeria, the library -- Tim proudly tells the people they meet, "This is my dad!" At the end of the day, Tim is sad to see his dad go but knows that they'll be together again soon.

"Five-year-old Emily tries to understand her grandfather's death by exploring the Christian and Jewish rituals that her family practices during and after his funeral."

"Unable to sleep, a young boy climbs into his father's arms and asks about birds, foxes, and whether his mother will ever awaken, then under a starry sky, the father provides clear answers and assurances."

"When his mother dies, a little boy is angry at his loss but does everything he can to hold onto the memory of her scent, her voice, and the special things she did for him, even as he tries to help his father and grandmother cope."

When they find a rabbit flattened in the road, a dog and a rat decide to give the deceased animal a proper sendoff.

Through the lens of a pet fish who has lost his companion, Todd Parr tells a moving and wholly accessible story about saying goodbye. Touching upon the host of emotions children experience, Todd reminds readers that it's okay not to know all the answers, and that someone will always be there to support them.

"Children ask different adults and themselves about death and receive a wide variety of answers. Includes an afterword and suggestions for parents."

Grandmother lives with Grace's family. She teaches her how to measure water for rice. She tells her stories about growing up in China and together they savor the flavors of her childhood. Grandmother says goodbye when she drops Grace off at school every morning and hello when she picks her up at the end of the day. Then, Grandmother stops walking Grace to and from school, and the door to her room stays closed. Father comes home early to make dinner, but the rice bowls stay full. One day, Grandmother's room is empty. And one day, Grandmother is buried. After the funeral, Grace's mom turns on all the outside lights so that Grandmother's spirit can find its way home for one final goodbye.

"Easy-to-read text reveals that dying is hard work, for the old and especially the young, and how good it is that so many people help when a person dies, from medical staff to clergy and friends to family members."

"A young girl named Nina recounts her feelings about her parents' divorce and describes what it is like to live in two households."

"A little girl is frightened of her daddy when he's drunk, but with the support of his family and friends he enters a treatment program and resolves to stay sober."

"A little girl describes what her life is like now that her parents no longer live together."

"A young girl and her grandmother visit the girl's father in prison."

"A fearful second grader in Concord, Massachusetts, learns about death when his grandfather's best friend passes away and he offers to accompany his grandfather to the funeral."

"Third-grader Max pursues neighborhood adventures with his dad as they both adjust to recent changes [divorce] in their family."

"She's in a better place now," adults say again and again. But mortality doesn't seem better, it seems stupid. This forthright exploration of grief and mourning recognizes the anger, confusion, and fear that we feel about death. "Necessary, beautiful, and ultimately reassuring," Death Is Stupid is an invaluable tool for discussing death, but also the possibilities for celebrating life and love.

"Why do we die? Why can't we live forever? What happens to us after death? Moving between science and culture, After Life: Ways We Think About Death takes a straightforward look at these and other questions long taboo in our society."

"Harvey and his little brother, who is a lot taller than he is, are normal boys playing in the slushy streets of early spring when they suddenly learn that their father has died of a heart attack."

"Moving to Vermont after his parents split, Miguel has plenty to worry about! Tía Lola, his quirky, carismática, and maybe magical aunt makes his life even more unpredictable when she arrives from the Dominican Republic to help out his Mami."

"An African-American boy nicknamed Bird uses drawing as a creative outlet as he struggles to make sense of his grandfather's death and his brother's decline into drug addiction."

"Gabby daydreams to tune out her parents' arguments, but when her parents divorce and she begins a new school, daydreaming gets her into trouble."

"Twelve-year-old Mitch and his mother are spending the summer with his grandparents at Bird Lake after his parents separate, and ten-year-old Spencer and his family have returned to the lake where Spencer's little brother drowned long ago, and as the boys become friends and spend time together, each of them begins to heal."

"The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm."

Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down.

"Comfort Snowberger is well acquainted with death since her family runs the funeral parlor in their small southern town, but even so the ten-year-old is unprepared for the series of heart-wrenching events that begins on the first day of Easter vacation with the sudden death of her beloved great-uncle Edisto."

"As her thirteenth birthday approaches, JoEllen decides to bring together her two separate lives--one as Joey, who enjoys weekends with her father and other relatives on a farm, and another as Ellen, who lives with her mother in a Cincinnati apartment near her school and friends."

"The death of a friend is a wrenching event for anyone at any age. Teenagers especially need help coping with this painful loss. This sensitive book answers questions grieving teens often have."

"Tired of staying in seclusion since the death of her best friend, a fourteen-year-old Native American girl takes on a photographic assignment with her local newspaper to cover events at the Native American summer youth camp."

"The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school."
(Book 1 in The Hazelwood High Trilogy.)

"The summer following her father's death, Macy plans to work at the library and wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where she makes new friends and finally faces her grief."

"After fifteen-year-old Jeremiah is mistakenly shot by police, the people who love him struggle to cope with their loss as they recall his life and death, unaware that Miah is watching over them."

"In the months after her sister dies, seventeen-year-old Lennie falls into a love triangle and discovers the strength to follow her dream of becoming a musician."

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life--at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father's extreme faith and very public fall from grace. The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. Dill's only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia--neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending--one that will rock his life to the core.

"After starting to publish a zine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality."