Remembering Ethan

*received from netgalley for free for honest review* This book addresses a very important thing about life, death, and importantly for children grief and how to deal with it (and how not to). This book is told from the childs point of view so small children can easily understand the language used. The parent info at the end is also amazing and very insightful.

While the self-help, factual information at the back of this book is to help children grieve their siblings and other family members, the actual focus of the story here is the fact that our heroine just cannot see what her parents are doing. They're shutting themselves away, clamming up, refusing to acknowledge the family jokes and events and habits together, meaning Ethan's sister thinks she's the only one carrying Ethan's memory as it should be. Well, her and the cat anyway. So while the story, wonderfully illustrated and very well fashioned all told seems to show the parents at fault, there's a bit of a jarring sensation as you read the closing two pages, full of advice on helping children through the mourning process. I guess that does go to show it remains and must remain a whole-family thing. Whichever half of this book you find most useful I am damned sure it will certainly be that – useful.

Death is hard on the living.

This excellent little picture book shows how a sibling wants to mourn her lost brother, but her parents are too heart broken to even say his name.

Grieving is hard, and this book is written to show the wrong way to do it, by shutting down, and the right way to do it, by sharing memories.

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Lovely story, and will be a help to the children left behind when siblings die.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

A book about loss and remembering loved ones that have passed, "Remembering Ethan" would be a great book to read-aloud after a child loses a family member. Sarah misses her brother, Ethan, very much after he passes away. She cannot understand why her parents are too sad to talk about him, though, and her emotions are so much different than theirs. Buttons, her cat, however, seems to miss Ethan too, and the two of them spend a lot of time in Ethan's bedroom. Sarah draws a picture of Ethan giving her a piggyback ride, and her parents are still too sad to even talk about Ethan. But Sarah wants her family to remember Ethan, not just be sad that he is gone. Sarah gets upset that no one wants to talk about memories that they have with Ethan, but her parents have a surprise for her when she comes downstairs after crying in Ethan's room.
The book includes a page that talks about how to have a conversation with your child after the loss of a loved one. As it can be especially hard on children to lose a sibling, this specific loss is addressed both in the book and in the "post-read" note offering ways to help children cope.
There aren't many children's picture books that deal with the death of a sibling or other family member and the grief that may come along with the loss. This book has adequate illustrations to express the emotions that Sarah is feeling over the course of the book, as well as illustrated memories that Sarah describes to remember Ethan. Overall, this might be very appropriate to read after a child loses a family member or attends a funeral.

If families talking about their deceased children, it's done it's job. Too often a child dies and the families just shut down. I've always felt so badly for siblings left behind to deal with their parents grief. Young Sarah, in the case of this story, gets her parents talking after she thinks they are angry with her. Her anger finally gets them talking about her deceased brother, as they should have been all along. Good story for grieving families.

This is a title published under the auspices of the American Psychological Association.  These books address significant childhood issues through a story.  There are always suggestion at the end of the book for the adults who are important to a child.

This title is about Sarah whose brother Ethan has died.  The cause of his death is not given and is not the focus of the story.  Rather the book is about how Sarah reacts, how her parents cope and how they begin to talk together.

Remembering Ethan is told in a way that is sensitive to the needs of young children.  It can serve as a very helpful conversation starter on a sad yet important topic.  Children will learn that it is important to allow for sad feelings and to talk about the person who has died.  Children will also see that parents are also having their own reactions.  The ways in which the family comes together will be reassuring to young listeners.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

This is a gorgeously illustrated book about the death of a sibling. It’s honest about grief, including how parents can unintentionally neglect the feelings of their other children, without being hopeless. The additional resources at the end are a nice addition.

What a sweet story! I loved the illustrations and the heartfelt message. This is an important book and I can see using it with students who have lost a loved one.