The Best Picture Books for Kids About Sadness

When I saw the movie “Inside Out” for the first time I practically burst into tears at the ending in the movie theater.  I loved the message that sorrow is essential and that we can even appreciate it for the strength it gives to the emotion of joy.  Sadness can be a difficult topic to broach with kids because it is so abstract and because so often the only aspect of sadness that we focus on is the uncomfortable and even miserable aspect.  However,  sadness doesn’t last forever and it is simply a part of life.  In fact, sometimes we don’t even know why we are sad!

The books below address the topic of sadness in beautiful and kid-friendly ways.  I sincerely love each one of these books for different reasons and am so excited to share them with you.  Teaching children about emotions helps them not only become more self aware, but it helps them express and even accept themselves better.  I hope you enjoy these titles as much as we do.

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“I’m Sad” by Michael Ian Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi- Sometimes we are just sad, even if we don’t quite know why.  This book addresses that and I love it.  Flamingo is feeling sad and his friends try to cheer them up.  They don’t succeed, but it is addressed that sadness is a passing feeling and all they really need to do is keep him company and wait.  So sweet.

“Bob’s Blue Period” by Marion Denchars- Bob’s friend bat has gone away for awhile and Bob is so sad without him that all of his paintings turn blue and he seems to have “lost” his colors.  Concerned, Bob’s friends take him to see the sunset to remind him of all the beauty still around him and Bob is in awe and starts to feel better and dream in color again.   Plus, in the end his friend does return.  Such a beautiful book!

“Pout Pout Fish” by Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna- This is a book that addresses sadness with a touch of humor.  In the story we read about a pout-pout fish who is always gloomy and always sad.  That is until he runs across an act of kindness that turns things around for him.  A nice reminder that sadness doesn’t last forever and of the joy of “cheering up”.

“Augustus and His Smile” by Catherine Rayner- In this story Augustus the tiger has “lost his smile” and can’t seem to find it.  He heads out on a big search to find it and along the way sees all the simple beauty around him that makes the world a wonderful place.  They are all little reminders of what we have to be happy about and in the end he learns that his smile is always with him.  This one is so beautiful and poignant.

“Big Hid” by Roisin Swales- Big the Turtle and Little the squirrel are best buddies. They do everything together and always have a fantastic time. However, one day Big hides in his shell for no apparent reason and refuses to come out. Little tries everything he can think of to coax his friend out to play and in the end a little time and a hug does the trick.

“Virginia Wolf” by Kyo Maclear and Isabelle Arsenault- This one is beautiful, poignant, and has a lot more text and depth than the other three books in this list. It can still be used for younger readers but I feel it fits best for older children. It could even be used as an introduction or an opening for discussion on depression for older children if you wish. Otherwise this book can easily just be used to teach about a case of the grumps. It is loosely based on the life of Virginia Wolf who struggled with depression herself. In the story her sister recognizes that she is in a “wolfish” mood and is upset with absolutely everything around her. She tries everything she can think of to cheer her up, but to no avail. Eventually she paints a beautiful fantasy land of flowers and candy in her sisters room and that does the trick in helping her sister out of her wolfish mood and back to being happy. It ends joyfully and the illustrations in this one are also completely swoon worthy.

“When I Feel Sad” by Cornelia Maude Spelman and Kathy Parkinson- This is a really practical and easily applicable book about how the emotion sadness feels and things we can do to cope with it.  I love every book that I have read from this series about emotions and can’t recommend them enough if you are looking for something really instructional and fantastic.

“Grumpy Pants” by Claire Messer This little penguin is super grumpy. He comes in from the rain and tries to shake the grumps off. He goes through a process of getting in the bath, reading some books, and doing things he finds enjoyable to help lift his spirits a bit before he is off to bed to start a new day tomorrow. It has simple text and is incredibly sweet. This one is perfect for the extra young kiddos with grumps out there, such as toddlers. The penguin is lovable and the illustrations are bright and happy.

“Life Without Nico” by Andrea Maturana and Francisco Olea- This is the sweet story of two best friends who love spending time together and do everything together. However, one day Nico has to move away for a few months with his family. Maia is sad and lonely without him, but after time she learns to find joy again and even makes a new friend. When Nico does return Maia learns that she still has room in her heart for him and that “there are some things that time cannot change”.

“When Sadness is At Your Door” by Eva Eland- This book is so beautifully and wonderfully done! It shows sadness in the form of a big blue blob that can follow you around and make everything seem gloomy.  However, in this story the child learns to face sadness, accept it and let it pass/leave.  So poignant and great for a wide age range.

“Mr Sherman’s Cloud” by David Habben- In this thought provoking book Mr Sherman starts his morning off grumpy and notices that a raincloud is following him around.  It is directly over his head and is just adding to his grumpiness.  That is, it does until some joyful children teach him to find the silver lining and he learns that he has control over the raincloud and the power to make his sadness leave.  

Felix After the Rain by Dunja Jogan – Felix carries around a heavy suitcase with all of his sadness locked-up tight inside. It isn’t until a young child helps him open it up to release the storm that Felix is able to enjoy the sunshine again. Such a beautiful book about the power of “letting go”.

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