Parent Death in Middle-Grade Books (Ages 8 – 12)

Children who experience a parent’s death, the loss of a mother or father, feel overwhelming emotions. Reading well-written middle-grade books like these may help some kids cope with the loss of a parent with stories showing that other kids have experienced loss and grief also.

Stories can also show the possibilities of dealing with grief.

What’s more, stories like these can grow empathy in a child’s friends and the community, giving others insight into what it might be like to deal with the death, grief, and loss of a parent.

PRINTABLE LIST

Parent Death in Middle-Grade Books (Ages 8 – 12)

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay
Ever since Conor’s mom gets breast cancer, a wild and ancient tree monster visits Conor’s nightmares. The monster demands that Conor look at the truth of his life but Conor refuses. Meanwhile, Conor moves in with his cold, unfriendly grandmother while his mother is hospitalized. The metaphorical nightmares echo Conor’s real-world experiences as we journey with him into pain, loss, and eventually, healing. Astonishing and powerful, this is one of the best books I’ve EVER read. Layers upon layers of symbolism, skillful writing, and haunting truthtelling deeply resonate.

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
This story of suffering and overcoming is beautiful, moving, and life-changing. 12-year old Willow is a genius with limited social skills whose adopted parents die in a car crash leaving her both confused, grieving, and without any support to make sense of the world. But Willow pushes on and finds an unexpected new family in the back of a nail salon.

The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari
This book is a journey of grief where a shadow world entices Charlie and Imogene Price because in that world, their mom is “alive” and not dead. But everything is not right in this shadow world because there, you lose memories, especially the sad ones, in order to “feed” family members who have died. Charlie is afraid he’ll lose his sister, Imogene. forever to the shadow world, like he did his best friend, Frank. This is a thoughtful treatment of emotions and grief — I highly recommend it, especially for book club discussions.

The Seventh Most Important Thing: One Kid. One Crime. One Chance to Make Things Right. by Shelley Pearsall
Angry with grief over his dad’s death, Arthur throws a brick at Junk Man’s head. The judge sentences Arthur to work for the Junk Man who asks Arthur to collect the items on the list of the Seven Most Important Things. Transformed by the experience, Arthur becomes an advocate for the Junk Man’s art. This is fictional but is inspired by the true story of American folk artist James Hampton whose work is in the Smithsonian. This story resonates emotionally and would make for a great bedtime or class read aloud.

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
Coyote and her dad are on a cross-country, coming-of-age trip to anywhere or nowhere after her mom and sisters die from a car accident. Then Coyote discovers that the park near her old home will be torn down, along with a special memory from her past, she is determined to get her dad to drive them back to where it all started.

Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, illustrated by Karl Kwasny
After his mom dies, Charlie moves to a purple mansion with a portal to the world of nightmares. Charlie, his little brother, and his friends must learn to face their fears in order for the nightmare world not to have access to the real world.

Summerlost by Ally Condie
This is a dealing-with grief, coming-of-age, mystery, and friendship story all in one sweet story. Cedar, her younger brother, and her mom spend the summer together in a small town after her father and other brother’s death. Cedar befriends Leo who helps her get a job at the local Shakespeare festival. The duo also start giving unofficial tours about the town’s most famous resident, an actress who died under mysterious circumstances.

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
After her village is attacked in Sudan, Amira’s life is in jeopardy. To find safety and shelter, she must walk for days to get to a refugee camp. In her grief and loss, she finds hope in the form of a precious pencil as she sees its many possibilities.

 

The House that Lou Built by Mae Respicio

Ever since her father died, Lou and her mother live in San Francisco with her grandmother. Lou’s worried when her mother says that they need to move somewhere more affordable so Lou makes it her mission to build a tiny house on the land her architect father left her, hopefully before they are forced to sell it. Readers will enjoy the close-knit Filipino family’s lives as well as Lou’s determination.

 

A Stitch in Time by Daphne Kalmar

Donut’s father dies and her aunt wants to move Donut to the big city– away from all she knows and loves. So Donut runs away. She survives on her own in a fishing shack until one mistake almost kills her. This tender story is about coming to terms with loss, both the loss of a parent and the loss of the life you know.

The Girl with the Ghost Machine by Lauren DeStefano

Deeply moving and thought-provoking, this spooky book will immerse you in a world of ghosts and grief. After Emmaline’s mother dies, her father becomes obsessed with bringing her back using a machine he’s built. He works in the basement, ignoring all else. Emmaline tries to break the machine but makes it work instead. When tragedy strikes, the characters are thrust into sharp grief and loss and must once again, ponder the value of such a machine.

 

Children’s Books About Death, Grief, and Loss

Picture Books About Facing Fears and Finding Courage