It is hard to lose a loved one, especially as a child. When Harmony’s mother dies, she says that the pain is worse than anything else she has ever felt. She exsperances the emotions of anger, fear, and sadness and even finds chances to feel happy and hopeful. This vast range of emotions confuses her and even scares her when she momently forgets about her mom while dancing. Thankfully she has supportive family and friends around her that help her through this painful time.

Harmony Dances On: A Book About Grief by Mandy Woolf is a heartfelt story about a little girl managing the loss of her mom. Grief is a complicated emotion that is made up of many different feelings and exsperances. Harmony finds some comfort in her mother’s scarf; wrapping it around her and smelling it reminds her of her mom. She struggles with resuming normal activities like going to school and returning to her dancing. I loved how the author shows the other adults in Harmony’s life struggling with finding the right words but also being patient and understanding, showing that adults struggle with how to help their child process and deal with grief too.

Elmira Georgieva’s illustrations really bring out the emotions of the characters. I can relate to the grandmother wanting to take away Harmony’s pain and support her. The activities that are included at the end of this story are invaluable to helping families deal with grief. I loved the emotions wheel; it helps kids identify the different things they are feeling and understand that they can feel more than one thing at a time. I found “The 3 P’s” activity especially useful, not just for dealing with grief, but for every day to remind children to work at a healthy mindset each and every day.

Harmony Dances On: A Book About Grief is a well-written children’s book about a difficult topic. The author shows great compassion and understanding of children’s emotions in this picture book. This is a wonderful book to have on hand to help children that may experience a tremendous loss like Harmony.

Pages: 34 | ISBN : 1922670960