Please welcome author Amanda Davis and illustrator Nadia Fisher to Dynamic Book Duos – a blog featuring two books that pair together in a meaningful way along with educational activities to strengthen reading skills. This week’s pairing focuses on processing and healing after loss.
Perfect Pair: Processing and Healing After Loss
Moonlight Memories written by Amanda Davis and illustrated by Michelle Chang (Worthy Kids/Hatchette Book Group) and Daddy & Me Side By Side written by Pierce Freelon and illustrated by Nadia Fisher (Little Brown Young Reader) can help children and adults process and heal from loss through remembrance-recognizing that no matter where we go, we will carry our loved ones with us always.
Book 1: Moonlight Memories
Discover how a young girl gains healing and hope as she processes the loss of a loved one in this beautifully sensitive story.
Piper is feeling sad and empty after the loss of her mother. So when her father, who is struggling in his own way, gives her a telescope to console her, she’s excited to explore the night sky. But she doesn’t find stars or planets when she looks through her lens. Instead, she finds a constellation of memories, a treasured collection of big and small moments with her mother, which she hurries to draw before they fade from view. Night after night she sketches, until eventually, she finds herself in a room covered in memories, surrounded by reminders of her mother’s love.
This poignant book offers children a pathway to acknowledge and process their grief over the loss of a loved one. The author’s spare and lyrical language provides the emotional depth the topic requires, while allowing parents and caregivers to use the book to begin deeper conversations with their young loved ones. Whether children choose to use art as their outlet or find another way, the message is clear: they can carry the memories of their loved ones with them. An ending Note to Parents features guidance from a licensed children’s counselor about how to use the book and where to find additional resources. Written from a place of personal experience, this story strives to bring comfort to children hurting after loss.
Book 2: Daddy & Me Side By Side
A young son and his father trek through trees and listen to birdsong, dig for worms and go fishing, and enjoy the breeze sitting side by side, just like Pop Pop and Daddy did, years ago.
A heartfelt and hopeful tale that touches on grieving the loss of a loved one as a father and son recreate old memories and make new ones in a day-long hiking adventure.
Educational Activities:
Activities for Moonlight Memories
Create a drawing of a memory of a happy memory with the loved one they lost.
Write their loved one a goodbye letter or create a scrapbook with images of them.
Activities for Daddy & Me, Side By Side
Visit a special place that reminds them of the loved one.
Activities for Both Books
Plant a seed, flower or tree in remembrance of the loved one who died.
Meet the Authors:
Photo Credit: Angela Wood Photography
