The Forever Dog by Bill Cochran
Dan Andreasen - Illustrator
Ages 4-8
Cautions: The dog dies
HarperCollins - April 3, 2007

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Dealing with the death of a pet is never easy, especially for children. This book puts a loving touch on the subject matter so a child can accept the inevitable and find a way to keep their beloved pet in their hearts forever. A difficult subject is handled very deftly.

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Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco
Random House Children’s Books, re-release 2009
Ages 4-8
Cautions: References to death

Kiwi Magazine Description:
Bonding over kugel, conversation and cats, neighbors Mrs. Katz and Larnel become the best of friends. It’s a lovely story of an unlikely pair who solidify a forever friendship through shared experience and love.

Author’s Description:
In this special Passover story, Larnel Moore, a young African-American boy, and Mrs. Katz, an elderly Jewish woman, develop an unusual friendship through their mutual concern for an abandoned cat named Tush. Together they explore the common themes of suffering and triumph in each of their cultures.

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And What Comes After a Thousand? by Anette Bley

Kane/Miller, 2007

Recommended readers – 4-9

Cautions: Death

Description from publisher:

This quiet, gentle, heartwarming book is meant to be shared – a book first about love and friendship, and then about loss.When Otto is buried, lots of people come. 
Lisa has never seen some of them before. 
Everyone speaks in hushed voices, and they all look terribly serious.
”Don’t whisper like that!” Lisa shouts at them. “Otto doesn’t like whispering!”
But the strangers just look at her. 
”No one understands,” Lisa says quietly. “Why did Otto leave me?”

Kiwi Magazine Review

Otto is old. Lisa is young. But these special friends have so much in common including the talent of spitting cherry pits, penchant for counting stars and the love of the emergency cookie stash. They spend days together gardening and conspiring until Otto becomes ill and the unthinkable happens. This author creates such a beautiful story of friendship, death and memories which might help a child understand and cope with their own loss. The illustrations are rich with color and perfectly depict a lovely friendship that will never end.

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