Missing Mommy: A Book About Bereavement

by Rebecca Cobb

Some time ago, we said good-bye to Mommy. I am not sure where she has gone.

Honest and straightforward, this touching story explores the many emotions a bereaved child may experience, from anger and guilt to sadness and bewilderment. Ultimately, Missing Mommy focuses on the positive—the recognition that the child is not alone but still part of a family that loves and supports him.

Genres: Picture Books, Death, Family, Childrens, Grief, Mental Health, Fiction

28 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

Rebecca Cobb has illustrated several picture books, including The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson. She has been short-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal twice. She lives in England.

Reviews

[Roya · Rating 3 out of 5]

خیلی غم‌انگیز بود :((((
باز هم در دسته‌ی کتاب‌های کودک در مواجهه با سوگ قرار میگیره. امیدوارم هیچ کودکی نیاز به خوندن این کتاب نداشته باشه :(((

[itselv]

قصة للأطفال ترقق وتوضح فكرة وفاة الأم وكيفية التعايش مع الموضوع. تجد الطفل محتار لا يفهم أين ذهبت أمه، مع مقتطفات قليلة عن وضع الأب والأبنة الكبرى (تمنيت لو كان هنالك وجود أكبر للأبنة الكبرى)، وترى كيف تعامل الطفل مع ذلك، وكيف تعامل والده معه.
النص طفولي بحت ولذلك هو عميق ومؤلم، اسلوب الرسم واختيار الألوان رقيق، جميل للغاية، ومناسب جدًا للأطفال، أحببته كثيرًا.

حينما قرأتها مع صديقة لي أخبرتني أنها ضد اخبار الطفل بالصريح أن والدته توفيت، لكنني لست متأكدة من ذلك، أعتقد أنه من حق الطفل أن يعرف، المهم أن يكون بشكل مخفَّف لا يؤذيه فوق ما يفعله الخبر نفسه، الفقد موجع ولا مفرّ من وجعه.
أغلب الكتب التي تبسط مفهوم وفاة قريب للأطفال التي قرأتها كانت إما مؤلمة للغاية أو مُبهمة لا تفيد الطفل بشيء. أما هذا الكتاب فهو واضح وسلس ومفيد ليكون شيء إضافي -بجانب الحديث مع بالغ- لأي طفل يعاني من نفس المشكلة.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chose to read for the illustrator; was not disappointed. The text is wonderful, too. This would be a good one to read *before* a loss. I'm not a huge fan of bibliotherapy as a 'read this and you'll feel better' but if, say, a kindergarten read this, then when one of their classmates did lose a family member, they might not be as clueless as otherwise. Really, though, it's such a good book, go ahead and use it whenever you think it would help, along with the other things you're doing for the child.

[Zahra Naderi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really miss my Mummy.
But I will always remember her.
I know how special I was to my Mummy and she will always be special to me.

[Fiona Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was so sad and beautiful at the same time. I really liked the illustrations, particularly the page where acrylic paint has been used to create the autumn leaves... stunning. Would be a great read for children who have also lost a family member.

[Fahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتابی، تاثیر گذار ، صادقانه و مفید درباره از دست دادن یکی از والدین 👌🥲🥺

[Hannah Higson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good if children are dealing with death. It is from the point of view of a little boy as he goes through all the emotions that a child might feel when coming to accept the death of a parent/ retaliative/ friend.

[Gemma Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple but hugely effective picture book to help children facing bereavement. Simple words and pictures, exploring the emotions and thoughts of someone facing a family death.

[Chloe Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me so emotional, it was so well told and explained. A story I would use about bereavement in my classroom.

[Emma Southam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful tool for helping children deal with death. I would also use it as a learning tool for all children to allow discussions on the book. I also loved the illustrations.

[melissa madjid · Rating 5 out of 5]

ah...(deep breath)...

wouldn't you agree that it takes less words to have most tears..?

well that is the thing you may find, not after you finished read this,
but you may found it right when you were reading it..

reading the pages,bit by bit, just flew me away to a figure of my dad...
i am just thinking about my dad...who is in silencely lay on bed in hospital for more than a week..

i am all about my loving dad...
the one who always spread love, joy and happiness ..
but he is the one that i am still searching about true happiness that i had ever gave to him...
even once..

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy feels a range of emotions as he grieves the loss of his mother. Simple, honest, and compassionate.

[Aamil Syed · Rating 5 out of 5]

There couldn't be a better way to approach this tender topic. This is just too wonderful and touching a book.

[Andreea Drăgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

PDF

Sad and beautiful.

[Ellie Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book addresses family bereavement by following the thoughts and experiences of a child who had lost his mum. It is written from the child's perspective and the illustrations are childlike to match, which I feel would make it more relatable for a child when reading. The book addresses the various emotions, thoughts and confusion a child faces when dealing with death, in a way which makes it comprehensible for a child whilst still maintaining the childhood innocence and feelings of death being unfair. I enjoyed following the boy on his journey to accepting and understanding his mother's death and liked the acceptance that it was ok to miss her and feel sad.

[Felicity Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an emotional story that could be used to introduce young children to the topic of bereavement. Teachers must take care in reading this to their classes, as some children may have had similar experiences in their lives.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very powerful and emotive

[Amie Pople · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated and written book, which opens with a saddening image of a young child who has lost their mummy. It is quite easy to assume that this is due to death based on the initial imagery of what appears to be a funeral setting, with dark colours and the suggestions of grim, grey weather due to the presence of umbrellas.

As you journey through the book you see the varying emotions that the young child is experiencing; confusion, anger, sadness, loneliness and love.

This book could be used with children across a range of year groups to help discuss death and grievance. Also within these topics further explain and talk about some of the emotions one might experience when losing a loved one or see a friend experience I.e a class member may be behaving differently and possibly quite angrily towards another student(s), this book could support the whole class in understanding why someone who has lost a loved one might be angry or sad, also creating a more mindful environment.

[Anna Wooliver Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the book for a rainy Monday morning.

[Kristenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the saddest story I have ever read in my whole life, especially now that I'm a mother :(

[Eleanor Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book from recommendation after reading Michael Rosen's Sad. This is a really touching and powerful story exploring the emotions felt by a child whose mother has passed away. An ideal picture book to aid any children experiencing bereavement, additionally to cover the topic with all children to make them aware of the feelings they may someday feel. These books that are exposing some of the raw emotions children go through that aren't present in most well known picture books are so important to introduce to our classrooms.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this is a book about the loss of a parent. It’s a touching story that helped to remind me about loss from a child’s perspective, including the confusion and anger.

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books about bereavement are a big interest to me and I collate ones that I come across in a reading list. I am such a fan of Rebecca Cobb's work and this book is beautiful.One of the things I think Cobb does really well is that she understands a child's viewpoint. It's a book written from the viewpoint of a bereaved child who is trying to understand where Mummy has gone: "Some time ago we said goodbye to Mummy. / I am not sure where she has gone". There's so much there in that simple, precise statement. The totality of bereavement is overwhelming to an adult but to a child who is still learning to process concepts such as life and death, it can be blindingly unfathomable. Cobb's sparse simple text captures that confusion but also that ache of trying to reason out what has happened: "We have been leaving her flowers / But she doesn't seem to have been collecting them"

Space is another thing that Cobb plays with to stunning effect throughout Missing Mummy. Some of the spreads are so bare and powerfully so; in one, an isolated child stands in the bottom corner of the double page spread and watches the opposite page which is full of children and their mums: "The other children have their Mums. / It's not fair." It's not. It never is. How can it be?

One other smart thing to note about this book are the hidden, non-textual messages in it. I've talked a lot before about the complex and elaborate literacies that picture books can teach readers, and it's something which occurs in Missing Mummy. The endpapers are coloured in a sort of loose squiggle which means nothing at present. It's one of those features which looks a little bit as though it's just decorative - and at the start it is. It's only upon reading that we see that it's actually the texture of Mummy's jumper - which has been turned into a sort of comforter by the young bereaved boy, which hasn't left his side.

Heartbreaking, sensitive and full of a sparse visual and textual elegance, Missing Mummy is rather outstandingly wonderful.

[Gemma Bartlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are like children's drawings. The emotions felt by the main character are shown in the illustrations and allows children to see that a range of emotions are normal and can also be re experienced later on after acceptance. I feel this would be quite a good book for a young child to read to understand emotions.

[Charlotte Lander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very powerful and emotive it can be used to explore the theme of death. Rebecca Cobb uses the book to express this child's emotions from sadness to anger showing the reader its okay to feel like this when a loved one has died.

[Tasmin Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ensures the reader is emerged into the story with the lack of frames within the book. It is extremely powerful in the way that Rebecca Cobb uses bereavement to enforce emotions. I like the way the illustrations are child like and drawn to imitate the childs perspective.

[Chelsea Brigginshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really powerful and sad book about a child's lack of understanding of bereavement.
This is a useful book for children experiencing such events in their lives, to allow them to see that they are not alone in this.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well done! These sorts of books are usually of poor quality, but this is a rare exception. The illustrations are stellar and the text is just right.

[Jayne Pryor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, well written book which covers a very difficult subject.

[Manda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was wonderful; it acknowledges the pain of loss from a child's perspective simply and kindly. I'd recommend this book for any child or family with children who're grieving the death of a parent.