This book was very well done for such a difficult subject. Grief is such a hard thing for all of us to process but for children (especially those with little to no experience in loss), this can be a nice resource.

Very sad but sparkles with hope. Would recomend for parents, doctors, and counselors for use in child grief.

There aren’t many books to help children when they are grieving. This book is joyous and heartfelt. Sarah misses her late brother dearly, but she wants to remember him. While it seems to her that her parents shy away from anything having to do with him.

This is an excellent resource for any family who has lost a family member or close friend. The book is well-written from the perspective of a child. She thinks that her family has forgotten her brother who died. She doesn't understand that her parents are having trouble processing the situation. Toward the end, they spend time as a family remembering Ethan. The back matter is very helpful for families, friends, and other people in a child's life who has lost a family member to death. Highly recommend.

This book is a wonderful resource for children who have lost a sibling. It highlights the complexities of how each individual deals with their grief differently, and how those differences can feel isolating. Toward the end of the book, the family is able to talk about Ethan and grieve together. I am planning on buying a copy of this book for work as a therapist with children.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I like that nowadays many children book talked about dealing with grief, as death always came unexpectedly

This book speaks about grief nicely and also how sometimes we are too busy dealing with our own feeling and forgot that sometimes it could be better when we share with someone that experience the same thing

I love the illustration, I believe it would help the kids to understand the story as well

I expect deeper stories tho, but it's already okay tho

This is a much-needed book! I loved it and cannot wait to add it to my home and school libraries. This story is told from the perspective of a younger sister of a boy who has recently died. She just wants to talk about him and how much she misses him, but her parents just cannot seem to do it. I have yet to read a book that deals with a sibling death in such a way. It is so necessary.

Sarah’s big brother Ethan died. She thinks about him and misses him all of the time. Her Mommy and Daddy won’t talk about him, so she thinks they do not miss him. Buttons, her cat, is the only one that seems to understand how sad she is.

One day she is so lonely and frustrated, she goes into Ethan’s room and sits down at his desk. She writes his name all over a paper and then draws a picture of Ethan giving Buttons and her a double piggy-back ride. But when she puts the picture on the fridge, her mommy and daddy get really upset.

Later, Mommy and Daddy are sitting on the couch and have placed the picture she drew on the wall over the fireplace. Daddy explained that they were very sad, but her picture helps them remember Ethan. Then they looked at pictures of their whole family, especially Ethan and remember how much they love him.

This touching picture book is heartbreakingly beautiful. The feelings that Sarah has as well as her parents are gently there for the reader to think about, especially if they have lost a loved one. Telling the story from Sarah’s point of view gives a voice to the feelings children may have after losing a sibling or other special person.

After the story is a section for parents or caregivers about dealing with and processing the grief of a child after the loss of a sibling. I sincerely hope you don’t have to deal with this reality in your life, but if you do, this book will help.

I highly recommend this book for all children and parents. Unfortunately, death touches all people and coping can be especially difficult. Be it the loss of a pet, a grandparent, neighbor or someone else your child is connected to, Remembering Ethan will help you help them and you cope with the loss.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Copyright © 2020 Laura Hartman

*thank you to Netgalley, Lesléa Newman and American Psychological Association/Magination Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.


'Remembering Ethan' is a sweet and sad story about a sister who lost her brother and parents who are too hurt and sad to want to talk about it. Ethan is Sarah's big brother who passed away when he was a teenager. It doesn't tell us how or what happened but instead focus on how Sarah gets shut down each and everytime she mentions the brother she loves. Eventually the parents realise that remembering Ethan is the best thing to do and to always remember the special memories that he left behind. 

For the most part I enjoyed this (well as much as one can when death is the topic in a little children's picture book.) But the part where Sarah's parents suddenly go from refusing to talk about him to suddenly flipping and being completely open about talking about him, just didn't sit right with me. I think there needs to be just a tiny bit added in the middle as to why the parents suddenly had a chance of heart. As adults we can already guess it. That the parents had decided that the best thing for them and little Sarah was to speak of him. But as a little kid, I'm guessing they either won't realise this piece is missing or they will also wonder. 

Otherwise this is a great book and I can see it being a comfort to those who have lost a sibling or someone important to them but it's also a good one for bring up the topic of death. This book does that gently and is one I would recommend. Plus the illustrations are just simply stunning.

This book is a beautiful, heartbreaking approach to death that I think will spark many important conversations within families and classrooms.

This is a very heartfelt story of a little girl who just wants to remember her brother who has passed on. It is told from Sarah's perspective, from Sarah's point of view she seems to be the only one who wants to remember her older brother.

On the other end you have two grieving parents who are just trying to cope with the loss of their son. The author included some important information at the back of the book as well. Different contacts and suggestions for talking to children about loss.

I definitely recommend this book 5*****

*received from netgalley for free for honest review* This book addresses a very important thing about life, death, and importantly for children grief and how to deal with it (and how not to). This book is told from the childs point of view so small children can easily understand the language used. The parent info at the end is also amazing and very insightful.

While the self-help, factual information at the back of this book is to help children grieve their siblings and other family members, the actual focus of the story here is the fact that our heroine just cannot see what her parents are doing. They're shutting themselves away, clamming up, refusing to acknowledge the family jokes and events and habits together, meaning Ethan's sister thinks she's the only one carrying Ethan's memory as it should be. Well, her and the cat anyway. So while the story, wonderfully illustrated and very well fashioned all told seems to show the parents at fault, there's a bit of a jarring sensation as you read the closing two pages, full of advice on helping children through the mourning process. I guess that does go to show it remains and must remain a whole-family thing. Whichever half of this book you find most useful I am damned sure it will certainly be that – useful.

Death is hard on the living.

This excellent little picture book shows how a sibling wants to mourn her lost brother, but her parents are too heart broken to even say his name.

Grieving is hard, and this book is written to show the wrong way to do it, by shutting down, and the right way to do it, by sharing memories.

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Lovely story, and will be a help to the children left behind when siblings die.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

A book about loss and remembering loved ones that have passed, "Remembering Ethan" would be a great book to read-aloud after a child loses a family member. Sarah misses her brother, Ethan, very much after he passes away. She cannot understand why her parents are too sad to talk about him, though, and her emotions are so much different than theirs. Buttons, her cat, however, seems to miss Ethan too, and the two of them spend a lot of time in Ethan's bedroom. Sarah draws a picture of Ethan giving her a piggyback ride, and her parents are still too sad to even talk about Ethan. But Sarah wants her family to remember Ethan, not just be sad that he is gone. Sarah gets upset that no one wants to talk about memories that they have with Ethan, but her parents have a surprise for her when she comes downstairs after crying in Ethan's room.
The book includes a page that talks about how to have a conversation with your child after the loss of a loved one. As it can be especially hard on children to lose a sibling, this specific loss is addressed both in the book and in the "post-read" note offering ways to help children cope.
There aren't many children's picture books that deal with the death of a sibling or other family member and the grief that may come along with the loss. This book has adequate illustrations to express the emotions that Sarah is feeling over the course of the book, as well as illustrated memories that Sarah describes to remember Ethan. Overall, this might be very appropriate to read after a child loses a family member or attends a funeral.

If families talking about their deceased children, it's done it's job. Too often a child dies and the families just shut down. I've always felt so badly for siblings left behind to deal with their parents grief. Young Sarah, in the case of this story, gets her parents talking after she thinks they are angry with her. Her anger finally gets them talking about her deceased brother, as they should have been all along. Good story for grieving families.

This is a title published under the auspices of the American Psychological Association.  These books address significant childhood issues through a story.  There are always suggestion at the end of the book for the adults who are important to a child.

This title is about Sarah whose brother Ethan has died.  The cause of his death is not given and is not the focus of the story.  Rather the book is about how Sarah reacts, how her parents cope and how they begin to talk together.

Remembering Ethan is told in a way that is sensitive to the needs of young children.  It can serve as a very helpful conversation starter on a sad yet important topic.  Children will learn that it is important to allow for sad feelings and to talk about the person who has died.  Children will also see that parents are also having their own reactions.  The ways in which the family comes together will be reassuring to young listeners.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

This is a gorgeously illustrated book about the death of a sibling. It’s honest about grief, including how parents can unintentionally neglect the feelings of their other children, without being hopeless. The additional resources at the end are a nice addition.

What a sweet story! I loved the illustrations and the heartfelt message. This is an important book and I can see using it with students who have lost a loved one.