RIYL Sad Books

See Also:

• Books That Make You Cry Blog Post by Mrs G Talks Books about above display

• RIYL Tearjerkers - High School

Sad Books for Upper Elementary

Books with pictures:

The Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya

The Wall by Eve Bunting

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

The Greatest Skating Race: A World War II Story from the Netherlands by Louise Borden

Middle School Books

Alan and Naomi by Myron Levoy

Bambert’s Book of Missing Stories by Reinhardt Jung

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

A Dog’s Life: the Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin

Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt

Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

Edward’s Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Foster’s War by Carolyn Reeder

Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis

Hans Brinker, or, the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Mick Harte was Here by Barbara Park

Missing May by Cynthia Rylant

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson

The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

National Velvet by Enid Bagnold

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

The Peppersalt Land by Marilyn Harris

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell

Something Very Sorry by Bohlmeijer Arno

Sounder by William Howard Armstrong

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Spider Sparrow by Dick King-Smith

The Summer of Riley by Eve Bunting

A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry

You Shouldn’t Have to Say Good-bye by Patricia Hermes

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963: a Novel by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffin

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Sad Authors:

Lurlene McDaniel

Robert Cormier:

• Chocolate War,

• TENDERNESS,

• WE ALL FALL DOWN,

• I AM THE CHEESE, and

• FADE

Series:

The Darkangel series by Meredith Ann Pierce

• The Darkangel

• A Gathering of Gargoyles

• The Pearl of the Soul of the World

FIRE-US trilogy by Jennifer Armstrong

• The Kindling

• Keepers of the Flame

• The Kiln