Always There

I received an electronic ARC from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley.
Powerfully relatable book for children dealing with grief. Sanders Diggs takes readers lets her main character take readers through the wide variety of emotions involved when we lose someone close. I love the person's spirit who lingers close throughout in the illustrations. The story does not share who died so readers can write their own story over the top of this one. Don't miss the informative text for adults at the end. This is just as effective as the story itself.

This is a very heartfelt book about love and loss. The words and illustrations did an amazing job outlining all of the emotions that can be felt during grief. It also helped to make these emotions valid for young and old. I thought the illustrations were very moving and the story was helpful for anyone experiencing grief.

I thought this was a great book to use with children who have expierences loss. The pictures were heartfelt and beautiful. I loved that it addressed all the stages, including anger. Sometimes books just cover sadness.

What a great book! This is a good book with a great message. All kids should have access to read it. It should be on every shelf in every library.

This is a really sweet book about love and loss. I liked that this book really looks into acknowledging emotions and even using therapy as a way to deal with grief. This is a great book to use for parents to talk to children about acknowledging their feelings and how to work through them.

Thank you for a chance to read this lovely book.

The sweetest book about love and loss. I enjoy how this book not only encourages the use of therapy for grief, but also acknowledges the emotions that come with losing a loved one. I could see this being a great introduction for parents to encourage their little one to express their feelings.

An incredible book to teach children how to deal with the loss of a loved one. It's filled with empathy. I would highly recommend this book to children handling grief. Really good illustrations.

This book is really needed for young children that has to deal a loved one’s death. The language used in the book to help kids express emotions that they may be feeling so that they can heal. The ghost illustrations were a little too much though. Kids can associate it with bad ghosts.

"They say grieving takes time. Soon I'll be alright. It's a mountain to clumb, but the future is bright".

A beautiful book for kids that's about a loved one's death, how to go through grief and possible situations that they can experience.

It's great that this book doesn't only show that grandpas and grandmas, for example, can die, but also someone young (like a father or a sibling) or a pet. Death entails grief and mourning (shorter, longer, deeper, more peaceful) no matter who's death it is nor how it happened, so these details are beautiful.

I also want to highlight the final notes for the kids' parents and loved ones about how to go through mourning with them, giving them tools to help them go through and understand every single feeling that they might feel during that process.

Beautiful book.

Always There: A Children's Book about Healing from Grief (Bilingual)
by Krystaelynne Sanders Diggs
This book is crafted to help children and families with grief. It shows a beautiful concept of the grief process allowing for the mixed emotion and the stages of grief. The child is shown in a loving way and allowed to feel how she feels, without having to explain. It also shows home and reality that we all loose someone from time to time, and that life still must go on.

From the illustrations, to the message this was an easy 5 stars. I think this would be beautiful for small children who are going through a loss. So cute!

A good SEL tool for school counselors, teachers, parents to help children cope with the process of grief, especially if they have never experience it before.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to early review this book.

This book is very sweet and covers important subjects of death, grief and loss in an easy to understand format for children.

Each line rhymes which gives it a musical aspect.

The illustrations are adorable and show loved ones in spirit form watching over us.

The book explains then stages of grief and all sorts of emotions that may be experienced after the death of a loved one.

At the end there are some tools and guides on handling grief

A beautiful book that honors the many feelings a child may have as they grieve the loss of a loved one. I especially enjoy the way it normalizes therapy for kids.

Thanks Netgalley for the advanced reader copy !

This is definitely a needed book. Navigating grief is so difficult in general but when you add trying to help your child do it, that’s even more difficult! Anything can help!

Always There is a picture book about a child's grief and heartbreak after losing a loved one. Beautiful, whimsical artwork depicted a loved one watching over a young girl as she sits and grows through her loss, talking with the spirit of her parent watching over her.

5/5 stars

What an absolutely beautiful, heart-felt book. I could see the age-appropriate walk through the different stages of grief being incredibly helpful for a child (and an adult helping them after a loss). The illustrations are charming and sweet, so much so that even a child who can't read the text yet would be engaged.

What a sweet and charming way to talk about grief. We recently lost our grandmother and my niece has been asking a lot of questions about when she’s going to come back and a book like this could really help us help her process what’s going on. I also love the addition of rhyming throughout since it helps the story flow.

This book gave me a sense of melancholy, relief, and I believe it is very good for children deal with grief in an easy-to-understand manner, and I genuinely enjoy it.

This is a sweet book for children about grief. It has lovely pictures and the rhymes are beautiful. The story flows really well and this will be perfect for any young child experiencing a loss. Even though we lose someone they are never really gone. It briefly touches on the stages of grief.

Always There by Krystaelynne Sanders Diggs and Nikki Woods Jones deals with the difficult topic of grief. This book is simple and engaging and would be a great book to read to a young child after the loss of a loved one.

As a teacher and parent, I love to use literature to help facilitate conversation on difficult topics. This is a book I would add to my classroom library to let parents borrow as a resource in a time of loss.

The pictures are colorful and engaging. I liked that there were resources in the back to help parents and teachers understand the natural progression of grief in children and a section on when to seek help. The section on ways to help your child provides a great list of ideas that parents can use to create an emotional safe environment for their kids to express their emotions.

As a teacher parents often ask me for help in how to talk to their young child and this book would be such a great resource to have on hand to help me provide them with resources. I will definitely pick up a copy for my classroom and recommend this book when asked for resources on grief for children.

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because I think I would have liked to see the main character go through the different stages of grief a little more. I think that would be helpful for young children to see and have examples of.

Thank you NetGalley and the author and illustrator of this book for allowing me to voluntarily read it and provide my honest opinion on it.

Always There is a wonderful story for children to be introduced to the stages of grief of losing a loved one. It is not an easy thing to go through both as an adult and as a child. This book shows young readers that life goes on but their live will always remain strong.

This is a book about how children can learn to handle the grief that comes from the loss of a loved one. In simple language and very relatable terms, it explains how children may feel as they go through the inevitable stages of loss that everyone must experience: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

How the presence of someone you love will always be a part of you is an important lesson that is emphasized in these pages, along with the illustrations that show how a spirit may hover around us in nature and the night sky.

There is also important advice at the back of the book for adults who are trying to help a child come to terms with their sorrow and the sense of a vacuum in their life. All in all, this is a really useful resource with which to help grieving children.

A great book for children about going through the grief of losing a loved one. This may be better for older children who will have an understanding of the stages of grief. Its ok to feel all the feelings which is important for children to know.

"Always There" by Krystaelynne Sanders Diggs and Nikki Woods Jones is a touching children's book that gently navigates the tender subject of grief.

"I miss you more than ever. You are my guiding light."

Through the eyes of a unnamed young girl who finds solace in her teddy bear and family's embrace, readers explore the natural landscapes of sorrow and healing. The story is a tender reminder that those we love never truly leave us; their spirit remains a guiding light through life's milestones.

The illustrations are sweet and ably show the stages of grief in expression and form.

Without specifying the loss, it allows children to apply their own experiences, reflecting the personal nature of grief. The book’s comforting narrative and helpful grieving tools at the end make it a profound resource for young ones learning to understand and process the emotions of loss. A poignant read for children and adults alike, it's a compassionate aide in the journey through grief.

My thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the opportunity to read this digital copy in exchange for a review.

This is beautifully written book. It is very sweet and simple, which makes it perfectly for young ones who are experiencing a loss of a loved one. The illustrations are just lovely as well.

This book is certainly not unique in doing what it does, but it does it well, and many are the services that will unfortunately need something like this to hand. It shows a mourning child, somewhat stuck with a comforting cuddly bear and a photo frame showing the deceased, but also able to live on in the presence of a kinda Casper-like spirit of whoever it is she's missing. The text is in decent rhyming couplets (until it isn't, but that isn't a major issue here) and the lead characters are of colour, if that matters. Key to this is the positive message that grief may outlive us, but the ones that have passed can also be looking over our shoulder, with an endless love for both us and the life we should still be living with happiness and fulfilment.

This is an excellent book about a child healing from grief. Showing that expressing emotions is how to heal and the multiple stages of grief. A must read for kids going through a loss.

This is a fantastic piece for children- it delicately lays out the grieving process, how that can look and where we can physically look to see our loved ones and how to hold them in our spaces after they have passed. The illustrations are bold, and captivating and I thought they really helped carry the important topics presented in the book.

This book is well-written and well-presented, it could truly help offer comfort and an understanding of what overcoming grief can look like for children and adults. I thought the resources for adults in the back of the look were so meaningful.

Always There is a beautifully crafted book designed to guide children through the challenging journey of grief. While adults often find resources explaining the grieving process, finding suitable materials for children can be challenging. This book admirably addresses that gap, navigating young readers through the stages of grief, validating their emotions, and offering valuable insights.

The inclusion of resources to assist parents in recognizing normal grieving behavior in children is a noteworthy aspect. The book provides guidance on when to seek professional help for severe grief and where to find additional support. With a compassionate touch, it also suggests practical ideas for comforting grieving children. These resources, had they been available earlier, would have been immensely beneficial to me during our own loss a few years ago.

In times of grief, everyone treads water, searching for support. Always There acts as an invaluable life vest for grieving parents, offering solace not only to the children but also aiding parents in navigating their own grief. A must-read for families navigating the challenging waters of loss, this book provides essential insights and practical help for those healing from the pain of losing a loved one.

Beautiful illustrations. I think that's what stuck out to me the most. I do love the sensitive and heartfelt message. We have moved recently so my kids have lost a lot of what was normal for them. This message was so accepting and sweet and was perfect for them as they processed the loss. I think this would be perfect for kids who have lost a relative as well. Thank you for an advance copy!

Always There is a wonderful book for children about dealing with grief after the death of a loved one. The art is rich and colorful, and the characters are expressive, especially the main character as she processes her grief, moving from denial to anger to acceptance. The language is simple and heartfelt and easy to read.

Though the book focuses on the death of a human loved one, I think the message and guidance would work for the death of a pet as well. Thankfully I don’t have any children in my life who need this right now, but I will be buying a copy for my best friend to keep just in case her kids could benefit from it in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the free copy in return for my honest review.