Death and Grief
Secrets of the cicada summer by Beaty, Andrea — Amulet Books, c2008 p2010--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.4 Twelve-year-old Lily, believing she could have prevented the accident that caused her brother's death, has quit speaking leaving everyone to think that she is brain damaged, but in her silence she sees everything, and when sly newcomer Tinny comes to town, Lily suddenly has a lot to talk about--if only she can make herself speak the words. 
Rationale: Bibliotherapy has a place in the library as part of reader’s advisory service. The topics of death, grief, and emotional problems can be touchy. I don’t usually do a whole class lesson about those topics. Rather, I maintain online book lists that students can easily retrieve for personal reading. In the old days, I kept print lists, but the online lists can be easily updated. On tough touchy subjects, I make sure I know the circumstances AND know the books that are appropriate. I have a chat with the student(s) and the teacher, and direct them to the online booklists. If I know the student and the situation very well, I may recommend a specific title. In this bibliography, there are books about grieving, feeling guilty, coping, abandonment, and loss of friends, parents, grandparents, and siblings. I zeroed in on titles suitable for the middle grader, from third through sixth. Another time, I’ll make a list appropriate for my middle school students, grades five through eight.
Teacher Resources:
Related Titles:
Making scents by Yorinks, Arthur — First Second, 2017. 741.5; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.1. Mickey isn't quite like his brothers and sisters. They're all stronger, faster, and have a much better sense of smell. That's because his "brothers and sisters" are dogs--bloodhounds, to be exact. Mickey's mom and dad are crazy about canines. Their dogs are the loves of their lives and their livelihood. So, naturally, they're raising their son as if he was a dog, and Mickey wants nothing more than to make his parents proud. Just as Mickey is mastering the art of sniffing, a tragic accident forever changes his happy family. Mickey is sent to live with relatives he's never met--relatives who are not fond of kids...and who hate dogs.
Finding perfect by Swartz, Elly D — Farrar Straus Giroux, 2016 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.5. With some help from her siblings and friends, Molly is able to face her OCD and be strong enough to get help for it.
Be light like a bird by Schroder, Monika — Capstone Young Readers, a Capstone imprint, 2016 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.6. When her father is killed in an accident, twelve-year-old Wren is grief stricken, but what upsets her even more is that her mother seems to be filled with anger, rather than sadness. As they move from place to place, Wren is forced to cope with her mother's strange behavior, her own grief, and all the problems that come with being the new girl in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where they finally end up.
Caterpillar summer by McDunn, Gillian — Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2019 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.6. Since her father's death, Cat has taken care of her brother, Chicken, for their hardworking mother but while spending time with grandparents they never knew, Cat has the chance to be a child again.
Love, Aubrey by LaFleur, Suzanne M — Yearling, 2009--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.9 While living with her Gram in Vermont, eleven-year-old Aubrey writes letters as a way of dealing with losing her father and sister in a car accident, and then being abandoned by her grief-stricken mother.
Penny from heaven by Holm, Jennifer L — Yearling, c2006 p2007--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.0 As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself and her family while also learning a secret about her father's death.
Season of secrets by Nicholls, Sally — Arthur A. Levine Books, c2009 p20110-Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.0 Sent by their father to live in the country with their grandparents after the sudden death of their mother, Molly's older sister Hannah expresses her grief in a raging rebellion while imaginative Molly finds herself increasingly distracted by visions, that seemingly only she can see, of a strange hunt in the nearby forest.
The Thing About Jellyfish --a novel by Benjamin, Ali — Little, Brown and Company, 2015--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.3 Twelve-year-old Suzy Swanson wades through her intense grief over the loss of her best friend by investigating the rare jellyfish she is convinced was responsible for her friend's death.
Summer of the gypsy moths by Pennypacker, Sara — Balzer + Bray, 2013--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.4 A foster child named Angel and twelve-year-old Stella, who are living with Stella's great-aunt Louise at the Linger Longer Cottage Colony on Cape Cod, secretly assume responsibility for the vacation rentals when Louise unexpectedly dies and the girls are afraid of being returned to the foster care system.
Skeleton tree by Ventrella, Kim r — Scholastic Press, 2017. 813; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.5. The day twelve-year-old Stanly finds a finger bone growing into a skeleton in his yard everything changes--his seven-year-old sister Miren adopts the skeleton, which only children can see, as a friend and playmate, and as her health continues to deteriorate Stanly blames the skeleton and tries to drive it away, although it is the only thing that seems to give Miren any joy.
Bridge to Terabithia by Paterson, Katherine — HarperTrophy, c1977 p2005--Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.6 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. FREE Teaching Resources available for download at http://www.titlewave.com/list
The incredible magic of being by Erskine, Kathryn — Scholastic Press, 2017 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.6. Nine-year-old Julian almost died when he was born and he believes that he has a special connection to the universe because of that, and he wants to make his two moms and his sister (who turned into a black hole of discontentment when she turned fourteen) happy because he is convinced that soon he will die and travel to the dog star--but now they have moved to Maine and he resolves to also use his "uni-sense" ability to help Mr. X, their neighbor, who is in desparate need of healing.
A dog called Homeless by Lean, Sarah — Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2014--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.7 Fifth-grader Cally Louise Fisher stops talking, partly because her father and brother never speak of her mother who died a year earlier, but visions of her mother, friendships with a homeless man and a disabled boy, and a huge dog ensure that she still communicates.
Me, Frida, and the secret of the peacock ring by Cervantes, Angela — Scholastic Press, 2018 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.7. Paloma Marquez is traveling to Mexico City, birthplace of her deceased father, for the very first time. She's hoping that spending time in Mexico will help her unlock memories of the too-brief time they spent together. While in Mexico, Paloma meets Lizzie and Gael, who present her with an irresistible challenge: The siblings want her to help them find a valuable ring that once belonged to beloved Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Finding the ring means a big reward -- and the thanks of all Mexico. What better way to honor her father than returning a priceless piece of jewelry that once belonged to his favorite artist!
The Aurora County All-Stars by Wiles, Deborah — Sandpiper, 2007--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.0 Twelve-year-old House Jackson, team captain and star pitcher of the Aurora County All-Stars, is finally ready to play again after being sidelined for a year with a broken elbow, but a standoff ensues when the team's big game is scheduled for the same day as Aurora County's two-hundredth anniversary pageant--an event directed by the very girl who caused Jackson's injury.
Slob by Potter, Ellen — Philomel Books, 2009 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.0. Picked on, overweight genius Owen tries to invent a television that can see the past to find out what happened the day his parents were killed.
Mimi by Newman, John — Candlewick Press, c2010 p2011--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.3 Mimi is determined not to give up on anyone or anything, but since Mammy died, her father never smiles, her sister Sally is in a bad mood, brother Conor keeps to himself, and even Sparkler the dog does not want to go for walks.
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