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extreme circumstance - not if but when
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books for littles
books for kids
books for teens
death as natural
death as metaphor
mother's death
father's death
sister's death
brother's death
grandmother's death
grandfather's death
friend's death
pet's death
protagonist's death
suicide
extreme circumstance
Lalo Lespérance Never Forgot by Phillippe Diederich
Lalo struggles to remember things, especially the details surrounding the death of his father. The COVID lockdown means his mother, a nurse, is rarely home, giving him time to connect with his neighbors, explore his apartment building, and discover an old radio that just might hold the key to finding everything he's lost.
Kindling, by Traci Chee
This retelling of the Seven Samurai digs deep into questions of trauma, colonialism, violence, and loss. Gripping and mesmerizing.
Morning Sun in Wuhan, by Ying Chang Compestine
What was the pandemic of the century like at the start? This swift, gripping novel captures not only the uncertainty and panic when COVID first emerged in Wuhan, but also how a community banded together.
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls, by Cherie Dimaline
Winifred's life with her father at the crematorium is isolated and lonely, but when her night walks through the cemetary introduce her to a spirit as lonely as she is, she questions her dead mother's past, and her own future.
Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo
Two teens, one from New York City, one from the Dominican Republic, discover a sisterhood when their father, who kept two families secret from each other, is killed in a plane crash.
Drowned City, by Don Brown
Brown's powerful graphic novel examines the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the deprivation of the aftermath. Using an arresting combination of clear-eyed narration and unflinching imagery he paints a harrowing picture of the suffering and death the infamous storm left in her wake.
not if but when
books for young people about death and loss
featured books
a categorized selection of books about death and lossbooks are available through the Whatcom County Library System, the Western Washington University Wilson Library, and at your local library or independent bookstore
All
books for littles
books for kids
books for teens
death as natural
death as metaphor
mother's death
father's death
sister's death
brother's death
grandmother's death
grandfather's death
friend's death
pet's death
protagonist's death
suicide
extreme circumstance
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