Grandmas Gone

A quiet night when a little girl learns Grandma is gone

by Pamela Dean

Late at night, young Arriel wakes to the quiet ring of the hallway telephone. Peeking from her bedroom door, she hears her father speaking softly. Grandma has passed away. The house feels heavy, and Arriel does not know what to do with the sadness that sits in her chest. Her parents invite her close. They sit together and share stories from Grandma's garden: tomatoes that stained their fingers, the watering can that was always too full, the way Grandma hummed while she pulled weeds. Hands hold hands. The night still feels long, but it no longer feels empty. Grandmas Gone is a gentle picture book about loss, listening, and the comfort of remembering. It meets children at bedtime with honesty and warmth, without rushing grief away. Families can read it when a loved one has died, or when a child first wonders why grown-ups cry. For little ones who need a story that stays close, and for the adults who sit with them until they sleep.

• Children's Picture Books
• Social & Emotional
• Bedtime