Love Lives On

For Will and his cousins, summer is the best time of year. It means getting together at their grandparents’ house and baking Papa’s favorite cobbler with Grammie, running through the sprinkler in the yard to cool off, and throwing dance parties inside when the days get too hot.

But when an unthinkable tragedy happens, Will’s family will never be the same. When his dad asks how he’s feeling, Will replies that he is scared. His dad says he feels scared too and assures him it’s okay to have those feelings. “Why did this have to happen?” Will asks Papa. “We don’t always understand why bad things happen,” Papa tells him.

But it’s the words of the speaker at his cousin’s funeral that resonate with Will. “Love lives on,” she says. As time goes on, Will does all he can to live those words and cherish the memory of his cousin. Gently told and illustrated, this all-too-relevant story provides space for children to process their feelings of grief and anxiety following the experience of losing a loved one and will be a welcome companion for young readers, parents, educators, and counselors to discuss what to do with the memories and feelings that remain.