I'll begin this grief section with a quote from Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas by Alan Wolfelt: "Someone you have given love to and received love from has died. You are in mourning. You are bereft. To be 'bereaved' literally means 'to be torn apart' and 'to have special needs.' I am truly sorry for your loss. Perhaps your most important 'special need' right now is to be compassionate with yourself..."
You're likely looking at this section to help a child with grief. A child's ability to understand and cope with grief varies with their age and developmental level. At the end of this section is a PDF handout describing how different ages of children understand and cope with grief. This handout also includes many other helpful hints. Another PDF at the bottom of this section is a workbook on helping kids with grief during the holidays. Feel free to print this out and use it with your child(ren).
Below are some books I have that parents are welcome to borrow. I'll continue adding resources; please let me know if you have things to recommend :)
Books:
"When Someone Very Special Dies" by Marge Heegaard *This workbook is my absolute favorite for helping children when someone they are close to dies. All of STMA's elementary schools have multiple copies of this workbook.
The Invisible String by Patrice Karst * This beautiful picture book is one we read to classes. While it's not directly about death and grief, it provides a healing concept for children. The concept is that we're always connected to the people (animals, etc) that we care about by invisible strings. All of STMA's elementary schools have multiple copies of this book.
Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas by Alan Wolfelt (also Healing Your Child's Grieving Heart) *This is my favorite book for adults. I like the brief, practical ideas and especially the "Carpe Diems" at the end of each idea.
Missing My Best Friend by Norma Thorstad Knapp * A picture book that shows a boy grieving the loss of his best friend. A great resource to help kids when a peer dies.
Why Would Someone Want to Die? by Rebecca Schmidt * A picture book that deals tenderly with a dad's suicide. The story is appropriate to read to kids, kindergarten and up. Lots of extra information for adults who are helping children understand this difficult concept.
"Tear Soup" by Pat Schwiebert & Chuck DeKlyen *I love this picture book and especially the helpful hints at the end (i.e. "If a child is cooking" and "If it's a male chef"). It's a little too vague as a primary book for elementary students who need more concrete information. Still, it's a beautiful book for adults and older students.
"When Dinosaurs Die" by Marc Brown *Written by the author of the "Arthur" series, this picture book is filled with helpful information for younger students.
"Samantha Jane's Missing Smile" by Julie Kaplow *A beautiful picture book about a little girl whose father died.
"The Saddest Time" by Norma Simon *This picture book includes 3 separate stories about death: a child's uncle dies, an elementary student dies, and a child's grandparent dies. The stories can be read separately.
"What on Earth do you do When Someone Dies?" by Trevor Romain *A short book of helpful ideas.
Don't Despair on Thursdays by Adoph Moser * Part of a series (including "Don't Pop Your Cork on Mondays"), this book offers ways to work through grief.
Websites:
www.ChildrensGriefConnection.com Retreats and camps to help children cope with grief.
http://www.mommyslight.org A web page for kids whose mother has died.
http://campkesem.org/ Coordinates camp experiences for kids who have a parent who died from or is currently battling cancer.