Trauma
Samantha Jane’s Missing Smile: A Story About Coping with the Loss of a Parent
Author: Julie Kaplow and Donna Pincus; illustrated by Beth Spiegel
Keywords: Parental Bereavement, Loss, Grief, Depression
Summary:
Samantha Jane is a young girl whose father has recently died. She is sad, does not want to talk about or feel her sadness and so stops doing things she formerly enjoyed. A neighbor notices her sadness and uses a stick in water as a parallel to what happens when you try to push your feelings down—they pop back up! The neighbor facilitates a healthy discussion between Samantha Jane and her mother about missing Samantha Jane’s dad and how the two of them can help each other with their grief.
Audience: child
Warnings: This book can be read with a parent to help normalize a child’s natural reactions to the loss of a parent.
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