"A beautiful, gentle, rhyming exploration of grief and mourning." - Joe Coelho, Waterstones Children's Laureate The Hare-Shaped Hole is a beautiful, touching, and poignant picture book which gently explores themes of grief and loss. Hertle and Bertle were always a pair, though one was a turtle and one was a hare. They were utterly buddies, and best friends forever and whenever you looked, you would find them together... until quite unexpectedly... the end came. When Hertle disappears for good, Bertle can only see a Hertle-shaped hole where his friend should be. He pleads with it, get angry with it, but the hole still won't bring his Hertle back. It seems like hope is lost... until Gerda the kindly bear finds him. She explains that he must fill the hole with his memories of Hertle. And slowly... Bertle begins to feel a little bit better. Powerful and moving text from children's author and poet John Dougherty is paired perfectly with warm illustrations from the wonderfully talented Thomas Docherty in a thoughtful and sensitive approach to this difficult topic. This moving picture book can be used as part of a gentle conversation about death and grief with children.

The bestselling TikTok sensation and instant New York Times Bestseller! Filled with a diverse cast of characters, the heartache of first love and loss, plus a touch of magic, Dustin Thao's You've Reached Sam will make an instant connection with anyone looking for a big emotional romance of a read. Seventeen-year-old Julie has her future all planned out: move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam's phone just to listen to his voicemail. And Sam picks up the phone . . . What would you do if you had a second chance at goodbye?

A moving, lyrical picture book about a young girl's love for her granddad and how she copes when he's gone, written by multi-award winning poet and Waterstones Children's Laureate Joseph Coelho. This beautifully illustrated, powerful and ultimately uplifting text is the ideal way to introduce children to the concept of death and dying, particularly children who have lost a grandparent. With Allison Colpoys' gorgeous artwork spilling from each page, accompany a girl and her grandad over spring, summer and autumn. See how he teaches her to imagine, to create, and to enjoy the small things in life, and how, when winter comes, he lives on in her heart. The perfect way into talking about a difficult subject with children, showing that sadness is as necessary to happiness as winter is to spring. If All the World Were... is a soothing, reassuring approach to loss and how to live without someone you loved, and a beautiful story, beautifully told.

´n Aardbewing op ´n Vrystaatse myndorp laat 'n skoolgebou ineenstort en keer drie tieners onder die puin vas. Terwyl hulle suurstof en hulle hoop al minder word, beleef die leser die angswekkende situasie saam met hulle. Die vasgekeerde kinders ervaar engtevrees en angs vir die naderende dood, en opflikkerings van verbete hoop en selfs humor, totdat ´n reddingspan hulle dae later eers uitgrawe. Maar een van hulle oorleef dit nie . . .

"A dark jewel of a book . . . intoxicating" - Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows

Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered in front of them. The terrifying assassin abducts all three girls to the world of Faerie, where Jude is installed in the royal court but mocked and tormented by the Faerie royalty for being mortal.

As Jude grows older, she realises that she will need to take part in the dangerous deceptions of the fey to ever truly belong.

But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the infuriating, arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan . . .

Dramatic and thrilling fantasy blends seamlessly with enthralling storytelling to create a fully realised and seductive world, brimful of magic and romance.

The story of an awful, universe-gone-mad-mistake, and one girl’s emotional battle for clarity and forgiveness

Tiger’s mother has always been her whole world, but now she’s sixteen her mother’s control over everything in her life is suffocating. Just when Tiger feels she can no longer bear the way her life is managed, the unimaginable happens and her mother dies. As she slowly begins to make a way for herself, Tiger creates a new kind of family, some related and some not, who will love her and travel forward with her.

This is how you make friends with the dark.

How can we answer the many questions young children have about death? Looking for a meaningful way to explain to neighbourhood children the death of a five-year-old friend, Doris Stickney adapted the graceful fable about the waterbug that changed into a dragonfly. First published under the title "Death" in 'Colloquy' (December 1971), the story was revised and expanded in 1982 to become the current bestselling Waterbugs and Dragonflies. This edition features full-colour paintings by Gloria Ortiz Hernandez, an artist whose work has been exhibited in Europe, South America, and the USA. A native of Columbia, she currently lives and creates her work on a farm in Pennsylvania.

Funny, emotional and uplifting picture book about separation and love, to help children understand their emotions. Everyone loves everyone in Tess's house, but when Tess has to leave for school for the very first time, she is worried that her family's love might not stretch that far. Mum explains that love is like a string, it connects people together even when they are far away. At school Tess notices that all the children have strings! Some are new, some are old, some stretch a long way, and some even stretch right up into the sky. But what happens when a string breaks? Love is the third in a trio of feel-good picture books from author Corrinne Averiss (Joy (2018), Hope (2019)) - a pure delight from start to finish. A wonderful story that subtly tackles difficult topics of death, grief, separation and overcoming anxiety.

Cemetery Boys is an LGBTQIA+ ghost story about magic, acceptance and what it means to be your true self. From the instant New York Times-bestelling author Aiden Thomas. Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him. In an attempt to prove himself a true brujo and gain his family's acceptance, Yadriel decides to summon his cousin's ghost and help him cross to the afterlife. But things get complicated when he accidentally summons the ghost of his high school's resident bad boy, Julian Diaz - and Julian won't go into death quietly. The two boys must work together if Yadriel is to move forward with his plan. But the more time Yadriel and Julian spend together, the harder it is to let each other go. 'A celebration of culture and identity that will captivate readers with its richly detailed world, earnest romance, and thrilling supernatural mystery' - Isabel Sterling, author of These Witches Don't Burn

Readers of John Green, Sarah Dessen, and Laurie Halse Anderson will be touched by the emotional depth and realistic characters of Jennifer Castle's teen novel You Look Different in Real Life.

Justine charmed the nation in a documentary film featuring five kindergartners. Five years later, her edgy sense of humor made her the star of a second movie that caught up with the lives of the same five kids. Now Justine is sixteen, and another sequel is in the works. Justine isn't ready to have viewers examining her life again. She feels like a disappointment, not at all like the girl everyone fell in love with in the first two movies. But, ready or not, she and the other four teens will soon be in front of the cameras again.

Smart, fresh, and funny, You Look Different in Real Life is an affecting novel about life in an age where the lines between what's personal and what's public aren't always clear.