"Something Sad Happened" by Darby Strickland. A Review

When death comes crashing into a family, little ones are seriously impacted. They aren’t able to express all their feelings, nor know how to deal with the mixture of emotions they’re experiencing. It could be the death of a beloved pet, or the loss of a favorite auntie, or – heaven forbid – the passing of mom or dad. Oh, the uncertainty, grief, and confusion that may come! Darby Strickland, a Christian counselor and author, has given parents, grandparents, and guardians a resource to help them work with their little one through the emotions. “Something Sad Happened: Helping Children with Grief” is a 32-page children’s book that is part of New Growth Press’s “Comfort for Children in Hard Times” series. It is brightly and beautifully illustrated by Thaís Mesquita.


The woodsy scene is populated by birds, a chipmunk, an owl, and a few other outdoor animals. The story gathers around Sunny, a young blue bird who has just lost a dear friend, Wren. Mama bird notices that Sunny is now not so sunny, and the pages work through little Sunny’s struggles with sadness, some of its physical consequences, and the various ways the loss is felt. Each page moves little Sunny along to hear from her Mama and her friends who are also sad, and how they can grieve while also having hope. In fact, the story ends in the hope we have, the comfort we have, in life and in death. It takes the readers to Jesus, and our eternal home.


The book wraps up with some helpful details on how to walk with a child through grief, giving them permission to lament, comforting Scripture passages, and a list of ways to help the kids to remember their loved one now that they’re gone. I appreciate this section, since it’s primarily for adults, and gives them some good coaching since they may also be hurting or feeing out of their comfort zone.


“Something Sad Happened: Helping Children with Grief” is a useful little book that would be ideal to give as a present to families in this situation. It would also be a good addition to a church nursery library just in case a child is brought to them who has recently gone through this kind of loss. I highly recommend the book.


Thanks to New Growth Press for sending me an electronic edition of this book, at my request. No demands were made, and no one was hurt in producing this review. Therefore, the evaluations here are all mine, freely made and freely given.