“Samantha Jane’s Missing Smile: A Story About Coping With The Loss of A Parent” by Julie Kaplow, PhD, and Donna Pincus, PhD

Credit: bookdepository.com

“Samantha Jane’s Missing Smile: A Story About Coping With the Loss of A Parent,” written by Julie Kaplow and Donna Pincus, and illustrated by Beth Spiegel, is a children’s book for ages 4 through 8 that compassionately guides families through the feelings experienced by children after the loss of a parent. Sweet, brightly colored illustrations accompany the tenderly told story.

The book is unique in the genre in that it’s written by professionals who work in the field of child psychology: Dr. Kaplow is the Director of the Trauma and Grief Center at the Texas Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Pincus is the Director of Research for the Child and Adolescent Fear and Anxiety Treatment Program at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University. These consummate professionals weave their expertise and insight throughout this sweet book that gently addresses a profoundly difficult subject.

Author Julie Kaplow
Credit: bcm.edu

“Samantha Jane’s Missing Smile” is the story of Sammy Jane processing the loss of a parent — her beloved father. Sammy Jane serves as a stand-in for children who experience this crisis. When Sammy Jane’s father dies, she doesn’t know how to cope with her grief. She is afraid to cry, worrying that her grief might overwhelm her. She is afraid to express her sadness to her mother, worrying that it might overwhelm her mother. “Sometimes I worry that if I talk to you about Dad, you’ll start to feel sad. I don’t want you to be sad,” she says to her mother.

Sammy Jane is angry about the injustice of her loss. She is afraid of betraying her father by expressing joy in the wake of his death. Because she feels guilty about feeling happy while grieving her father,  Sammy Jane stops smiling, or, in the words of the book, her smile goes “missing.”

Author Donna Pincus

A neighbor named Mrs. Cooper notices a change in Sammy Jane’s behavior, as the girl becomes withdrawn and depressed. Mrs. Cooper sits Sammy Jane down to discuss death and grief. As Sammy Jane begins to open up to Mrs. Cooper, she starts to feel better. With the help of Mrs. Cooper and her own mother, Sammy Jane learns that bottling up her feelings won’t make them go away and that expressing them brings comfort. She finds her smile when she realizes that her father would want her to lead a full, happy life.

“Samantha Jane’s Missing Smile” provides realistic strategies for coping with the gamut of emotions children feel after the loss of a parent. The book also gently guides adults in understanding and helping children through this crisis.