Booklist: Losing a Pet

Cats

Balter, Lawrence. A Funeral for Whiskers: Understanding Death (Barron’s 1991)
Sandy is very sad and upset when her cat Whiskers dies, but her parents help her understand and accept the loss.

Garland, Michael. Angel Cat (Boyds Mills 1998)
This is a book for any child who has ever loved an animal–a book for those who will always remember the pet that brought them joy.

Graeber, Charlotte Towner. Mustard (Macmillan 1982)
Eight-year-old Alex and his family try to come to terms with the old age and death of their beloved cat.

Hill, Frances. The Bug Cemetery* (Henry Holt 2002)
Neighborhood children imaginatively stage funerals for dead bugs, but they experience real sadness following the death of a pet.

Himler, Ronald. Six is So Much Less Than Seven* (Star Bright 2002)
After the death of one of his seven cats, an old man finds how much he misses his cat as he goes about the activities of each day.

Newman, Leslea. The Best Cat in the World* (Eerdmans 2004)
A young boy deals with the loss of his beloved cat Charlie, eventually accepting the arrival of another, very different cat.

Partridge, Elizabeth. Big Cat Pepper* (Bloomsbury 2009)
Big Cat Pepper has always been part of the family, but after he grows very old and dies, the boy who loves him comes to understand his mother’s reassurance that “his spirit is forever and can fly, fly, fly.”

Rylant, Cynthia. Cat Heaven* (Scholastic 1997)
God created Cat Heaven, with fields of sweet grass where cats can play, kitty-toys for them to enjoy, and angels to rub their noses and ears.

Smith, Maggie. Desser the Best Ever Cat* (Knopf 2001)
A child describes how Dexter the cat had always been part of the family and how much he was loved even after he died.

Stewart, Elisabeth Jane. Bimmi Finds a Cat* (Clarion 1996)
An eight-year-old Creole boy on Galveston Island grieves the death of his cat Crabmeat, but when another lost cat leads him to a new friend he starts to heal.

Viorst, Judith. The Tenth Good Thing About Barney* (Atheneum 1971)
In an attempt to overcome his grief, a boy tries to think of the ten best things about his dead cat.

Wallace-Brodeur, Ruth. Goodbye, Mitch (A Whitman 1995)
A young boy describes how he feels when the family cat dies.

Yolen, Jane. The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye* (Random House 2011)
A cat whose kitten days are far behind her says goodbye to her human family, and the animals and places that have made her life special, before leaving this life behind.

Dogs

Adoff, Arnold. Return of Rex and Ethel (Houghton 2000)
Two girls who share many wonderful times with their beloved dogs, Rex and Ethel, find a special way to remember them when they die.

Blumenthal, Deborah. The Blue House Dog* (Peachtree 2010)
A boy whose beloved dog has died, and a dog whose owner also died, find each other and slowly begin to trust one another.

Bostrom, Kathleen Long. The Day Scooter Died: A Book About the Death of a Pet (Zonderkidz 2005)
Mikey feels responsible for his dog Scooter’s accidental death, but his parents remind him that the dog loved him best of all and they can still love each other, although Scooter is now with God.

Burleigh, Robert. Good-Bye, Sheepie* (Cavendish 2010)
A father teaches his young son about death and remembrance as he buries their beloved dog.

Carrick, Carol. The Accident* (Seabury Press 1976)
After his dog is hit by a truck and killed, Christopher must deal with his own feelings of depression and guilt.

Chichester Clark, Emma. Up in Heaven* (Random House 2004)
When Arthur’s dog, Daisy, goes to live in heaven, she is sad because she knows Arthur misses her so much. Then she thinks of a way to show him she’s thinking of him, and that lets him know she’s safe in heaven.

Cochran, Bill. The Forever Dog* (HarperCollins 2007)
Mike and his dog Corky plan to be best friends forever, so when Corky becomes sick and dies, Mike is angry about the broken promise.

Cohen, Miriam. Jim’s Dog Muffins (Greenwillow 1984)
When Jim’s dog is killed, the other first graders experience with him his natural reactions to death.

Demas, Corinne. Saying Goodbye to Lulu* (Little, Brown 2004)
When her dog Lulu dies, a girl grieves but then continues with her life.

DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne. A Dog Like Jack* (Holiday House 1999)
After a long life of chasing squirrels, licking ice cream cones, and loving his adoptive family, an old dog comes to the end of his days.

Ehrlich, Amy. Maggie and Silky and Joe (Viking 1994)
Joe, a young boy who grows up under the protection and companionship of his family’s cow dog, Maggie, and later with a stray puppy called Silky, must learn how to cope with loss when Maggie dies during a thunderstorm.

Howard, Ellen. Murphy and Kate (Simon & Schuster 1995)
Kate and her dog Murphy are best friends, and when Murphy dies Kate does not think she can ever be happy again.

Huneck, Stephen. Sally Goes to Heaven* (Abrams 2014)
A beloved dog dies and goes to Heaven where she lives happily and helps to find her family on earth a new pet.

Hurd, Edith Thacher. Black Dog Who Went Into the Woods (Harper & Row 1980)
The various members of a family react to the death of their dog.

Joosse, Barbara M. Better With Two (HarperCollins 1988)
Laura tries to make Mrs. Brady feel better when her dog Max dies.

Keller, Holly. Goodbye, Max (Greenwillow 1987)
Ben blames his parents for the death of his dog, Max, and does not want the new puppy they brought home.

Lyon, George Ella. Ada’s Pal (Orchard 1996)
A small dog suffers from a broken heart when her dog companion dies until a veterinarian advises the family that there is only one thing to do.

Marcero, Deborah. Rosie & Crayon (Peter Pauper 2017)
When Rosie’s dog Crayon dies all the color in her world seems to fade to grey, but after she helps a little boy find his cat she suddenly realizes her heart is open to love again, which helps bring the beautiful colors back into her life.

Parker, Marjorie Blain. Jasper’s Day* (Kids Can 2002)
This debut picture book deals with a subject fearful to every child’s heart–a beloved pet who is dying. This celebration of a dog’s last day speaks of acceptance, remembrance, and the importance of cherishing life’s every moment.

Rohmann, Eric. Bone Dog* (Roaring Brook 2011)
Although devastated when his pet dog dies, a young boy goes trick-or-treating and receives a timely visit from an old friend during a scary encounter with graveyard skeletons.

Rosen, Michael J. Bonesy and Isabel (Harcourt 1995)
Isabel, an adopted Salvadoran girl, adjusts to her new life in America by befriending the old dog Bonesy, but then she must deal with her grief when he dies.

Walsh, Barbara. Sammy in the Sky* (Candlewick 2011)
A little girl tells about her special pet, Sammy, “the best hound dog in the whole world,” and how, after he becomes sick and dies, she comes to know the truth of her mother’s words, that Sammy’s spirit is everywhere.

Wilhelm, Hans. I’ll Always Love You (Crown 1985)
A child’s sadness at the death of a beloved dog is tempered by the remembrance of saying to it every nignt, “I’ll always love you.”

Wild, Margaret. Harry & Hopper (Feiwel & Friends 2011)
Harry is devastated when he returns home from school to find that his beloved dog, Hopper, will no longer be there to greet him.

Wild, Margaret. Toby* (Ticknor & Fields 1994)
When Toby the dog gets old and sick and finally dies, the children who love him express their love in different ways.

Zolotow, Charlotte. The Old Dog* (HarperCollins 1995)
When a young boy finds his old dog dead one morning, he spends the rest of the day thinking about all the good times they had together.

Other Pets

Bird
Fox, Mem. Tough Boris* (Harcourt 1994)
Boris von der Borch is a tough pirate, but he cries when his parrot dies.

Schneider, Antonie. Good-Bye, Vivi! (North-South 1998)
When Granny’s beloved canary Vivi dies, the family comes to accept it, as well as the idea that some day they will lose Granny as well.

Mouse
Harris, Robie. Goodbye Mousie* (McElderry 2001)
A boy grieves for his dead pet Mousie, helps to bury him, and begins to come to terms with his loss.

Goldfish
Kroll, Virginia L. Helen the Fish (A Whitman 1992)
When six-year-old Hannah’s beloved goldfish dies after a relatively long life, she seeks comfort from her older brother Seth.

Gerbil
Tobias, Tobi. Petey (Putnam 1978)
Emily has enjoyed her pet gerbil for five years, but one day after school she finds Petey huddled up in a corner of his cage.

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Updated December 22, 2014