My Grief Comfort Book: Creative Activities to Help Kids Cope with Loss and Keep Memories Alive

by Brie Overton, Jesse White (Illustrator)

This creative activity book belongs in the hands of every child who has lost someone special in their lives to help them heal through play and art therapy with stickers, coloring sheets, keepsakes, and comfort cards.

Whether a child has lost a grandparent, a pet, or an important person in their life, My Grief Comfort Book offers them space to process their emotions through hands-on art, play, and storytelling. From Writing a Goodbye Letter on the stationary in the book to creating a Memory Box to hold and share memories, the projects help kids heal after a death. Kids are encouraged to sketch Before and After Drawings, put together a Comfort Kit to cope when they're sad, or make an Activity Jar of things a loved one enjoyed before they died. The 25 prompts, games, exercises, and keepsake crafts were designed by author Brie Overton, the clinical director at the Experience Camps for grieving children. My Grief Comfort Book invites kids to take a creative break from the heaviness of their loss. As they draw, paint, share a story, or play a game, they build coping skills, manage their emotions, develop resilience, and make peace with their grief.

Genres: Grief

88 pages, Paperback

Published January 14, 2025

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s easy to forget how much children can suffer. In the so-called “good old days” of 1930, one out of three women had lost a child. That means siblings grieving siblings, when they weren’t grieving parents, grandparents and friends in a time of high mortality rates. But children still lose loved ones: grandparents, parents (especially those many COVID orphans), friends, siblings, teachers, neighbors, pets.

Author Brie Overton has prepared this book to help the young navigate their grief. What a great resource! Adults might want to keep some of these activities in mind for their own grief.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Storey Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

[Alyssa Downer-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

OKAY. I absolutely loved this book.

I used to professionally work in early childhood development/ education as well as K-12 teaching. I have seen my share of resources for children. This is so beautifully written and illustrated. The care and knowledge that went into this is admirable.

I’ll definitely be keeping it in my parental toolbox for when I have my own child.

***I received the digital copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important healing resource for children who have lost someone important. Filled with helpful activities, prompts, letter writing exercises, the making of keepsakes, and more. A treasure!

[Bek (MoonyReadsByStarlight)]

Lots of great ideas for all ages, but broken down well for children and includes some of the paper supplies for some activities.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and it’s a great book for kids - and adults - to work through grief in a creative way. As a bereavement counsellor there are definitely techniques I use with already and some I have made a note on for the future. I think the added resources and stickers make it a really nice buy for a bereaved young person. There really is a lot of benefit in creative work.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book! I got it for my 5 year old who lost her grandma (my mother) 1 year ago. She keeps asking about her every other day and these activities really helped her work through what she feels inside and it helped her realise and appreciate a lot of things. Highly recommend!

[Positive Vibes Only Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Grief Comfort Book: Creative Activities to Help Kids Cope with Loss and Keep Memories Alive (Paperback) by Brie Overton, a child psychologist, is one of the most compassionate, creative, and meaningful guides i've come across to help children navigate grief and loss.

This book offers gentle, hands-on activities to help children express emotions, keep memories alive, and find some comfort through creativity. Grief and loss is hard at any age, but for children, it can feel impossible to understand.

Why this book is a must-have for parents, teachers, and caregivers:
1️⃣ Creative Healing Activities —From memory jars to storytelling exercises, these activities give children a safe way to express their grief without pressure.
2️⃣ A Compassionate Approach—Written by a child psychologist, this book acknowledges that grief looks different for every child and provides age-appropriate ways to process emotions.
3️⃣ Keeping Memories Alive —Instead of focusing only on loss, the book encourages celebrating the love that never fades, helping children build a lasting connection with the loved ones they miss.

I highly recommend this book to every child or parent struggling with grief to help them heal with love, compassion, creativity, and gentle understanding.

[Caoilo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Storey Publishing | Storey Publishing, LLC for a copy of this book for review.

As someone who has lost so much I have to be honest as soon as I started to read this book I was crying.

I loved the idea behind it and the activities it suggested. I liked that it included stickers and work pages. Most of all I like how they were were at the end. The flow of the book wasn't constantly interrupted. Also I liked how it gave the child a lot of independence about how they wanted to grieve.

Though I am 38 I still want to do some of these things. It is unfortunate that as my dad died when I was two I wont be able to do the memory work. And though I was a teen ager when my childhood dog died, regrettable I don't have any photos of him which sounds strange I guess but it is something I really regret. Though I have a lot of grief to get through I think his passing was one of the worst because I had a bad childhood and didn't feel I could grieve him at the time.

I think I'd have a better life if I could grieve some of my losses.

[Stina Pettersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found doing this activity book very cathartic. Even though I'm not the target audience, being a 20 year old doing a childrens activity book to help process grief, but even i took some very important techniques and tools to process grief in a good and productive way. It includes both things your child can do on their own, but also things you, as a trusted adult, can have a part in. I wish my parents would've invested in something like this when i went through the loss of loved ones when i was younger.

I highly suggest getting the physical copy of the book so that you can take use of the large array of interactive parts of the book, such as poetry cards and stickers for some of the activities.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange mfor an honest review.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grief is something that every single person experiences, and yet, healthy discussions around how to handle and process loss are hard to find - especially for kids. This book seeks to change that.

Overton does a wonderful job of providing simple, but powerful activities for children (though I would say many of these activities are suitable for any age!) to work through and gain healthy coping mechanisms to sit with grief. The book is very easy to read and follow along - perfect for any reading levels. It is lighthearted with stickers, cut-outs, and lots of color, while being incredibly validating for all types of loss without ever being patronizing.

I highly recommend this book for anyone of all ages.

Thank you so much to Storey Publishing and NetGalley for a free e-ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Kira K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is an amazing little book, it contains a lot of great ideas to help children work their way through their own grief and the adults around them understand how grief is affecting them. There is also a lot in the back of the book to help with the activities such as paper bag pinata and poetry scramble words which is a great help since it's easy for our minds to go blank when put on the spot.

Favourite Quote:
"You may feel sad, lonely, hurt, angry, worried, happy, or upset. All of those emotions are part of grief, and all of them are welcome. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and you will experience your own unique grief journey."

[Lisa Gisèle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.


I wish this book was around 30 years ago. The activities varie from self reflection of your emotions and letting them out. It allows children to give an out to an emotion then can't put words to and helps them feel a little in control during a situation where we have little control.

Wonderful book that has been recommended to my friends for their children already, I ended my recommendation with "and it has stickers", because everything is better with stickers
Come back to your Review on the pub date, Jan 14 2025, to post to retailers.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has simple activities that seem like they would help, that a kid could do on their own or have a parent help them with. No specific age range — would work for a kid from the age of maybe 5 to a tween. The illustrations are lovely and inclusive (in terms of race, disability, and gender). Overall I think this is a strong buy, especially considering how hard it is to find books about grief to kids. Some of the art activities are really cool and I’m thinking about how they could work as library programs.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

[Bube Ale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I will recommend to the family and their kids when they get a lost in their life. Deaths of the loved ones, leaving their freinds and going to live in another country,... Beautiful activities for moving forward to the life and to prepare a memorable journey for activities...
Great book for all of us! Thanks for the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley!

[Venise "BookMarkedbyVee" Blow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was exceptionally well done. The art and the activities were great! I found this to be valuable tool to help children process and work through grief. While the focus is for children some adults might find some these activities useful as well.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to have for anyone who is helping their kid go through the grieving process. Works better as a purchased book than a library book due to the activities