Ages 4-8; PrK-Gr.3.
In this enthralling and emotional palindrome picture book by Daniel Nayeri and Matt Rockefeller, a young boy grieving the loss of his mother embarks on a lushly fantastical adventure that illuminates what remains when our loved ones are gone. All alone He was not so brave... His heart needed to know The answer. This lyrical, heartfelt story a young boy who's lost all hope braves the dark forest to ask, "Mom, were you glad you were mom"

Ages 8-12; Gr.4-6; John Steptoe award for new talent author, 2025.
Twelve-year-old Kwame Powell isn't ready to deal with losing his grandmother, even as he and his family head to Ghana for her celebration of life. He's definitely not ready when he's sucked into a magical whirlpool that leads straight to Asamando, the Ghanaian underworld. There, he comes face to face with his grandmother, who is very much alive, and somehow still...a kid? Together with his best friend, Autumn, and a talkative aboatia named Woo, Kwame must battle angry nature gods, and stop the underworld from destroying the land of the living. But there's an even bigger problem: Only living souls can leave Asamando. In order to save the mortal world and return home, Kwame will need to find the courage to do the bravest thing of all -- learn how to say goodbye.

Lexile measure 890; Ages 5-8; PrK-Gr.3.
Everyone deserves a quiet, restful retirement. But for John, a newly retired classroom skeleton, life is just beginning. When John is adopted by Grams and Gramps and leaves the classroom to live on their farm, every day is an exciting new adventure: John rides in the car for the first time, makes a snow angel, scares away crooks, and becomes a source of comfort for Grams, Gramps, and their grandkids.

Ages 13-18; Gr.10-12.
Packed with voice, Shannon C.F. Rogers' I'd Rather Burn than Bloom is a powerful YA novel about a Filipina-American teen who tries to figure out who she really is in the wake of her mother's death.

Lexile measure AD350L; Ages 4-8; K-Gr.3.
When a child loses the person in his life that he loves more than anything, he uses his cape as protection from his grief. On the day of the funeral, he uses it to block out the pictures and stories people share, refusing to acknowledge the memories that keep bubbling up. He won't think about them. He doesn't want to. He avoids the memories, until he no longer can. He remembers then. Their laugh, their smile, the moment they gave him the cape. The cape transforms, becoming a source of comfort and strength as the child navigates the sadness and joy that these memories bring up.

Ages 4-8, PrK-Gr.3.
Confused and distraught after the death of his father, a boy opens an envelope he left behind and is surprised to find a map of the woods beyond their house, with one spot marked in bright red. But why? The woods had been something they shared together, why would his father want him to go alone? When he reaches the spot marked on the map, he finds pages upon pages of drawings of woodland creatures, made by his father when he was his age.

Ages 13 and up; Gr.8 and up.
In this prequel to the bestselling phenomenon They Both Die at the End, two new strangers spend a life-changing day together after Death-Cast first makes their fateful calls.

Ages 4-8; PrK-Gr.3.
Once, in a tiny village in India, there was a young boy who loved to paint. He lived with his grandfather, who taught him to paint with his fingers, to make paints from marigolds and brushes made from jasmine flowers. Sometimes, the village children would watch them painting together, and the boy's grandfather They didn't have much, but they had each other. After his grandfather dies, the boy notices a little box wrapped in string with a note that read: "From Dadaji, with love," with his grandfather's best paintbrush tucked away inside. But he feels he will never want to paint again.