Highland libraries and schools are putting carefully chosen books into the hands of children who are living with loss.
To mark Children’s Grief Awareness Week, which runs from seventeen to twenty three November, new resources are being launched across High Life Highland Libraries and selected school libraries.
The books are aimed at children and young people who are experiencing change, bereavement and loss, as well as the adults who support them.
They have been funded through The Highland Council Family Wellbeing Fund and chosen to offer comfort, understanding and a way to begin difficult conversations.
The Council says too many children feel isolated and alone after a bereavement or significant family change and that stories can help them feel seen and less afraid of their own feelings.
Copies will be placed in libraries across the Highlands, with e books also available, and some school libraries will receive titles tailored to their age groups.
Inside every book there will be a bookmark with a link to the Change Loss and Bereavement Highland website so that families and professionals can find wider support.
Education Committee Chair, Councillor John Finlayson, said the project is about giving young people gentle, age appropriate tools to help them navigate grief.
He said bereavement can shape a person but does not have to define them.
“As part of Children’s Grief Awareness Week we are launching new resources to support those impacted by change, bereavement and loss,” he said.
“We know that bereavement does not define a person, although it can become part of their identity, it can also give a child or young person insights and resilience they can take through their life.”
He said grief is a universal experience but often a lonely one, especially for children.
“Life is finite, and we all experience bereavement, but grief is hard, particularly for our young people to navigate,” he said.
“We want to encourage children, young people, families, services, organisations, practitioners, managers and anyone who supports a bereaved child or young person to have access to books that are sensitively written by professionals, in a caring and understanding way and age appropriate, so that in time it will enable people to speak more openly about grief and their feelings.”
He thanked the teams whose work has made the project possible.
“This collaborative project, coordinated by the Council Psychological Services Teams will make a real difference and we thank all involved for all the great work they do to support our Highland families during difficult times,” he said.
Head of Libraries at High Life Highland, Julie Corcoran, said libraries are a natural home for this kind of support.
She said the partnership showed what can be achieved when services work together for families.
“High Life Highland welcomes the opportunity to be involved in this collaborative project,” she said.
“By making these books freely available in library buildings and online, we are helping to ensure that all families across the Highlands can have easy access to such important resources.”
Launch events took place at Fortrose and Aviemore Libraries on seventeen November, bringing together librarians, school staff and local partners to introduce the new collection.
The Council hopes that over time the books and online resources will help break the silence that often surrounds grief, giving children and young people permission to ask questions and share what is on their minds.
Above all, they want every child who is grieving to know that they are not alone and that help is within reach in their own community.
