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Understanding and Attending to Our Emotions: Sadness and Grief

Experiencing sadness can come on suddenly and leave just as quickly or stay for awhile. It can be brought on by many things-- a change or loss, disappointment, physical pain or hurt feelings, feeling misunderstood, unaccepted or excluded, or by the way our brain is wired. It can be something one person feels or an emotion shared by a whole group, like a class or family. Here are books aimed at a kid audience to explain these emotions in an informative and empathetic way and offer examples kids can relate to.

Evanston Public Library

20 items

  • (我好害怕) Book is written in 中文 (not pinyin) and English. English description: Zookeeper Amos McGee always makes time to visit his friends who live at the zoo until the day he stays home because he is sick. 年龄/Ages: 3-6
    Book, 2012Nanchang : Er shi yi shi ji chu ban she, 2012. — Chinese JPicture Stead.P
  • Coen is having a sniffling, sighing, sobbing kind of day. His family thinks they know how to cheer him up. His dad wants to go outside and play, Mom tells her funniest joke, and his little sister shares her favorite teddy. Nothing helps. But one by…
    Picture Book, 2022New York : Kokila, 2022. — JPicture Tomli.R
  • Tacoma Jones loves working at her family's roadside diner, the Brake Fast, pouring coffee and serving eggs and muffins to truckers all day long. But her excitement is dampened when she learns that today is one of Dad's bad days, when his depression…
    Book, 2024New York, NY : Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2024 — J Lute.R
  • In this book, readers will discover how to recognize sadness in themselves and others, how to best respond to it, and how to communicate about these feelings. Social and emotional learning (SEL) concepts support growth mindset throughout, while Try…
    Book, 2020Minneapolis, MN : Jump?, Inc., [2020] — J 155.4124 Bulli.A
  • Garvey’s father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading-anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he…
    Graphic Novel, 2023New York : Wordsong, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, 2023. — JGraphic Grime.N
  • Every person experiences loss. And every person grieves. Whether it's a deathloss (the loss of a loved one) or a shadowloss (the loss of something not someone), we all go through it. But most of us don't know how to deal with it. In this book, grief…
    Book, 2024Toronto, ON : Kids Can Press, [2024] — x155.937 Imper.C
  • Things aren't lost, they're only ever in a different place... Jasper has been waiting all spring for his beloved nightingale to return to the garden and sing. But it's not there, and neither is his sister, Rosie. Gathering his backpack and his…
    Book, 2024Tulsa, OK : Kane Miller, a division of EDC Publishing, 2024. — J Fiction Jucke.S
  • Juana's life is just about perfect. She lives in the beautiful city of Bogotá with her two most favorite people in the world: her mami and her dog, Lucas. Lately, though, things have become a little less perfect. Mami has a new hairdo and a new…
    Picture Book, 2019Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2019 — JChapter Medin.J
  • A child discovers that there is no single right thing to do when someone is sad or grieving. Ages: 3-7
    Picture Book, 2024New York : Dial Books for Young Readers, 2024. — JPicture Lukof.K
  • Boo-hoo! Mimi is not having a good day. She can't get her pigtails to sit right, she's not in the mood for her favorite breakfast, and she's far from feeling like her usual self. Mimi has a case of the Blahs, where nothing feels quite right. With…
    Graphic Novel, 2023New York, NY : Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Press, 2023. — JGraphic Grant.S
  • The Monster Parade

    a Book About Feeling All Your Feelings and Then Watching Them Go

    O'Leary, Wendy,
    Watch as the anger monster passes and the sadness monster disappears--it's all part of the parade of feelings we experience every day. Instead of holding on to their emotions, kids can acknowledge them and let them go on their way. Ages: 3-7
    Picture Book, 2022Boulder : Bala Kids, [2022] — J 152.4 Olear.W
  • Because she has been very ill and weak, River cannot join in the dancing at this year's tribal powwow, she can only watch from the sidelines as her sisters and cousins dance the celebration--but as the drum beats she finds the faith to believe that…
    Picture Book, 2022Watertown, MA : Charlesbridge, [2022] — JPicture Sorel.T
  • Rylee Swanson is beginning eighth grade with zero friends. A humiliating moment at the end-of-seventh-grade pool party involving a cannonball, a waterlogged updo, and some disappearing clothes has Rylee halfway convinced she's better off without any…
    Book, 2024New York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2024] — J Davis.T
  • Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom can't be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets "the itch," and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home. Fortunately, Joe has an outlet in his journals…
    Book, 2024New York : Nancy Paulsen Books, 2024. — J Fipps.L
  • Tristeza

    manual de usuario

    Eland, Eva,
    Este libro está escrito en español. Un niño pequeño experimenta la tristeza como si fuera un visitante, reconociendo la emoción y sugiriendo actividades para hacerlo. A young child experiences sadness as if it were a visitor, acknowledging the…
    Picture Book, 2018Barcelona : Picarona, [2018] — Spanish JPicture Eland.E
  • Doran's mom, Isa, taught her to be bold and challenge the rules if they don't seem fair. People are more important than rules. But she never taught Dorani how to do it all without her. So, when Isa dies on the way to speak with the principal about…
    Book, 2025New York, NY : Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2025. — J Fiction Mende.Y
  • Claire and Michelle used to be best friends, but now the two sisters couldn't be more different. Michelle will do anything to fit in, even if it means denying her Taiwanese culture, whereas Claire is proud of who she is. So much so that she decides…
    Graphic Novel, 2024New York : Harper Alley, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2024. — JGraphic Lamot.L
  • When James learns that his next-door neighbor and best friend, Sanj, is moving away, he is very sad--so sad he thinks he will feel that way forever. Ages: 4-8
    Picture Book, 2021Chicago, Illinois : Albert Whitman & Company, 2021. — JPicture Adelm.H
  • (我好害怕) Book is written in 中文 (not pinyin) and English. English description: A young guinea pig describes situations that make him sad, how it feels to be sad, and how he can feel better. 年龄/Ages: 4-8
    Book, 2007Beijing : Dian zi gong ye chu ban she, [2007] — Chinese JPicture Spelm.C
  • Explore what happens in your brain when you feel sad, the chemicals your brain produces, and ways to manage sadness. STEM concepts cover aspects of psychology and neurology in simple terms, while social and emotional learning (SEL) concepts support…
    Book, 2023Minneapolis, MN : Jump!, 2023 — J 155.4124 Colic.A