Jump to: My Favourite Books Non-Fiction/Educational Books Story Books

Leading up to my dog Jack’s euthanasia, it was very important to me that I was able to prepare my four-year-old son. I realized I have made recommendations to families before, but didn’t really know how appropriate some of the books and resources were to my family. I reached out to colleagues, read the resources, and even heard feedback that he would be fine and ask for a new puppy the same day. I know my son and I know he is a deep feeler and was very connected to Jack, so he would need as much preparation as possible.

Little did I know that he would be actually crushed about Jack dying, and helping him through his grief would be incredibly important. Looking back I can say I feel like we did prepare him well, but maybe we didn’t prepare ourselves well enough for his sadness. Grief is a journey for all members of the family.

After Jack died I decided to research children’s books as a way to honour him.

Below is a large list of books appropriate for kids ages 1 through 10 years. I have tried to include information about many of these books that should make it easy to find them from a book retailer or your library. I found over 90% of these books at the Winnipeg Public Library. I have divided the list by the type of book (story vs. nonfiction/educational) and noted if it is pet specific, the approximate age range I think would benefit from the book, and a brief summary (which includes important topics in the book). I recommend parents and caregivers read books before they share with their children to ensure the content is appropriate for their individual kid and family.