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Samantha Jane hasn't been smiling much lately. Samantha Jane misses her father very much. Sometimes the sadness feels so big she is afraid to let herself feel it. Sammy Jane is also worried about her mother, and whether they are all going to be happy again someday. But then she feels guilty. Is it right to feel happy when her father can't be here to enjoy life, too? Losing a parent is a profoundly life-changing event for a child. Samantha Jane's Missing Smile gently guides families through the feelings, thoughts, and wishes that children experience when a parent dies, and offers helpful tools for lasting hope and happiness.
Deftly co-authored by Julie Kaplow and Donna Pincus, and very nicely illustrated with the artwork of Beth Spiegel, Samantha Jane's Missing Smile: A Story About Coping with the Loss of a Parent will gently guide young readers and their families through the feelings, thoughts, and wishes that young children aged 4 to 8 experience when a parent dies and provides them with helpful tools for overcoming their natural and inevitable grief associated with such loss. Simply put, Samantha Jane's Missing Smile should be a part of every elementary school and community library collection because every school and every community will, from time to time, have children who have lost a parent and stand in need of what Sammy Jane has to share with them.
Donna Pincus, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor at Boston University. She is also the Director of the Child and Adolescent Fear and Anxiety Treatment Program at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University and is editor and creator of the Child Anxiety Network, a website dedicated to providing information about child anxiety and its treatments. She lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with her family.
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