Zert dropped the I-ring on the couch. Cribbie, Mr. Fearless, the toughest guy in their whole class and his best friend, was dead. He felt the tears well up inside of him. He wouldn’t cry. Thirteen-year-olds didn’t cry. He was too tough to cry.
–Surviving Minimized by Andrea White
She tried to console me, but I wasn’t having it. I hunched over my plate, scooped up every bit of egg, and gulped down my milk. I didn’t feel all that hungry, but the long days in the fields had made me into an eating machine. I didn’t know many boys my age, but I figured I ate more than all of them. Even when I didn’t want to. With Mom still sitting there looking glum, I walked out the door. The morning was made of dark clouds, and the rumble of distant thunder matched my mood. I wasn’t angry or sad. I didn’t feel any disappointment in Mom or Dad. I felt an emotion I couldn’t place. The clouds and I were the same. We were dark. We were ominous.
–Darkness Between the Stars (Eaters of the Light Book 1) by J Edward Neill
This book is a parable about Rhino, who survives a terrible storm that destroys his home and everything dear to him. Rhino swallows the storm down and must learn to deal with the feelings, and tears, in the aftermath. It’s a good story for all children, but will be particularly helpful to those going through a particularly difficult time.
Quote:
He understood now it was love that mattered. Love could never be lost. Love could never be shattered.
–The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, written by LeVar Burton and Susan Schaefer Bernardo, illustrated by Courtenay Fletcher