Sad Stories
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
Shelved in children’s fiction under the author’s last name.
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Little Women / Louisa May Alcott
Four sisters grow up in nineteenth-century New England.
Sounder / William H. Armstrong
When his father is jailed for stealing food for his family, a young boy grows up with the help of the devoted dog Sounder.
The Barn / Avi
In an effort to fulfill their dying father's request, 9-year-old Ben and his brother and sister build a barn on their land in the Oregon Territory.
Tuck everlasting / Natalie Babbitt
A ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger discover a secret about a spring whose water is the secret to everlasting life.
On my honor / Marion Dane Bauer
Tragedy strikes when friends go swimming in a treacherous river that they had promised their parents never to go near.
Granny the Pag / Nina Bawden
Since she was little Cat has lived with her motorcycle-riding, one-of-a-kind granny, but now Cat's parents want to take her away.
The boy in the striped pajamas / John Boyne
After his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, the son of a Nazi officer befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.
Wenny has wings / Janet Lee Carey
Having had a near-death experience in the accident that killed his younger sister, eleven-year-old Will tries to cope with the situation by writing her letters.
Sadako and the thousand paper cranes / Eleanor Coerr
A sick child in Hiroshima races against time to fold 1000 paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy. (j 92S SASAKI Coe)
Trout summer / Jane Leslie Conly
One summer a sister and brother befriend an elderly man who has much to teach them.
Prairie songs / Pam Conrad
Louisa's life in a loving pioneer family is altered by the arrival of a new doctor and his beautiful, frail wife.
Getting Near to Baby / Audrey Couloumbis
Staying with their aunt and uncle helps Willa Jo and her sister come to terms with the death of their family's baby.
Walk two moons / Sharon Creech
After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route.
Hurry Home, Candy / Meindert DeJong
A little lost dog searches for a place to call home.
Radiance descending / Paula Fox
Eleven-year-old Paul struggles with his feelings toward his younger brother who has Down syndrome.
The snow goose / Paul Gallico
During World War II, friendship develops between a lonely painter and a village girl, when they help an injured goose.
Old Yeller / Fred Gipson
Set amidst the landscape of 1860s Texas, a stray dog quickly proves himself a loyal friend to a young boy and his family.
Beat the turtle drum / Constance C. Greene
The bittersweet tale of two different, yet loving, sisters' summer together. (j pb G)
Cousins / Virginia Hamilton
Concerned that her grandmother may die, Cammy is unprepared for the accidental death of another relative.
Bird Lake moon / Kevin Henkes
Two boys meet one summer at a Bird Lake, where their friendship begins to heal the loss in each of their lives.
Olive’s Ocean / Kevin Henkes
On a summer visit to her grandmother's cottage, twelve-year-old Martha gains perspective on the people in her life, including a classmate who died.
Sun & spoon / Kevin Henkes
After the death of his grandmother, ten-year-old Spoon tries to find the perfect artifact to preserve his and his grandfather’s memories of her.
You shouldn't have to say good-bye / Patricia Hermes
During the autumn of the year, 13-year-old Sarah learns her mother is dying of cancer.
Out of the dust / Karen Hesse
Fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's Oklahoma farm during the Dust Bowl years of the Great Depression.
Phoenix rising / Karen Hesse
Fifteen-year-old Ezra, who was exposed to radiation leaked from a nearby nuclear plant, comes to stay at the Vermont farmhouse of the narrator’s grandmother.
A time for dancing / Davida Wills Hurwin
Seventeen-year-old best friends tell their stories in alternating chapters after one is diagnosed with cancer.
Toning the sweep / Angela Johnson
On a visit to her dying grandmother , 14-year-old Emmie hears many stories about the past and her family history.
Kira-kira / Cynthia Kadohata
The friendship of two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s.
Finn's going / Tom Kelly
A 10-year-old English boy decides to run away after the sadness at home becomes unbearable following the death of his brother.
Love, Aubrey / Suzanne LaFleur
While living with her grandmother, 11-year-old Aubrey writes letters as a way of dealing with the losses in her life.
Autumn street / Lois Lowry
A woman remembers a lonely time in her childhood when she turned for friendship to her family’s black cook and her son.
A summer to die / Lois Lowry
Thirteen-year-old Meg envys her sister Molly’s beauty and popularity, and finds it hard to cope when Molly falls ill.
Baby / Patricia MacLachlan
Taking care of a baby left with them helps a family come to terms with the death of their own infant son.
Good night, Mr. Tom / Michelle Magorian
A battered child is cared for by an old man in the English countryside during World War II.
With you and without you / Ann M. Martin
A twelve-year-old tries to accept that her father is dying.
I carried you on eagles' wings / Sue Mayfield
Worried about his ill mother, Tony finds distraction by caring for a gull with a broken wing.
Girlhearts / Norma Fox Mazer
Thirteen-year-old Sarabeth's life is turned upside-down when she is suddenly orphaned and at the mercy of everyone who thinks they know what is best for her.
Shizuko's daughter / Kyoko Mori
After her mother's suicide when she is twelve years old, Yuki spends years living with her distant father and his resentful new wife, cut off from her mother's family, and relying on her own inner strength to cope with the tragedy.
Gold star sister / Claire Rudolf Murphy
Thirteen-year-old Carrie comes to know sick grandmother better through letters she and her long-dead brother wrote to each other during World War II.
Ways to live forever / Sally Nicholls
Eleven-year-old Sam, who has leukemia, writes a book during the last 3 months of his life.
Mick Harte was here / Barbara Park
Thirteen-year-old Phoebe recalls her younger brother Mick and his death in a bicycle accident.
Bridge to Terabithia / Katherine Paterson
Two friends find friendship and tragedy in a secret hideaway.
Flip-flop girl / Katherine Paterson
Uprooted following the death of their father, nine-year-old Vinnie and her five-year-old brother, are helped by their friendship with Lupe, the flip-flop girl.
A day no pigs would die / Robert Newton Peck
A 13-year-old Vermont boy whose father slaughters pigs, must grow up when he learns "doing what's got to be done," especially regarding his own pet pig who cannot produce a litter.
Freak the Mighty / Rodman Philbrick
Learning disabled Max and his new friend, Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his brilliant mind, find that together they make a powerful team.
Run, Run as fast as you can / Mary Pope Osborne
After her family moves again, 11-year-old Hallie relies on her brother for friendship, but then learns that he is gravely ill.
Where the red fern grows / Wilson Rawls
A young boy living in the Ozarks becomes the owner of two hounds and teaches them to be champion hunters.
Remembering Mog / Colby Rodowsky
Annie comes to terms with the loss of her sister who had been murdered two years earlier.
Missing May / Cynthia Rylant
After the death of her beloved aunt, 12-year-old Summer and her uncle leave their West Virginia home in search of the strength to go on living.
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy / Gary Schmidt
Turner hates his new Maine home, but values his friendship with Lizzie, a girl from a poor nearby island community.
Words by heart / Ouida Sebestyen
A young black girl struggles to fulfill her papa's dream of a better future for their family in the southwestern town where, in 1910, they are the only blacks.
A Taste of Blackberries / Doris Buchanan Smith
When a prank ends in tragedy, a boy must learn to live with the feeling that he could have prevented it.
Drums, girls, & dangerous pie /Jordan Sonnenblick
When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family.
Izzy, willy-nilly / Cynthia Voigt
A car accident causes fifteen-year-old Izzy to lose one leg.
So B. It / Sarah Weeks
After spending her life with her mentally retarded mother and agoraphobic neighbor, 12-year-old Heidi sets out to find who she really is.
Charlotte’s Web / E. B. White
Wilbur the pig has a special friend in Charlotte the spider.
Each little bird that sings / Deborah Wiles
A girl whose family runs the funeral parlor in their small town, is unprepared for the series of heart-wrenching events that begins with the sudden death of her beloved great-uncle.
The devil's arithmetic / Jane Yolen
Hannah resents the traditions of her Jewish heritage until time travel places her in the middle of a small Jewish village in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Look for these and other great books in
The Children's Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412/531-1913 2009
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
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