Brilliant new book hopes to support grieving children who have lost a parent

Posted in Family.

Posted on November 30, 2018March 30, 2019 by Pip Lincolne

A brilliant new picture book is hoping to help children who are learning to live with the loss of a parent.

Mum’s Jumper

Mum’s Jumper is what looks to be a beautiful and sensitively written and illustrated book by UK author Jayde Perkin.

Jayde wrote the book in response to losing her own mother to cancer, and it’s about to be published in a crowd-funded Kickstarter collaboration with picture book publisher Book Island.

“When her mum died of cancer, Jayde’s world turned completely upside down,” the picture book’s Kickstarter page explains. “Creating comics became a cathartic process for her and helped her understand all the feelings she was experiencing.”

Book Island’s publisher says that an experience she had with a parent inspired this much-needed project.

“Two years ago a young mother asked me at a local Christmas Fair whether we had any picture books which could help her explain to her child that she didn’t have long to live. To my despair, I couldn’t offer her the right book. I never saw this mum again, and ever since that day I’ve been exploring how we could create a picture book about grief ourselves.”

A child’s guide to grief

Enter Mum’s Jumper to thankfully fill this very big gap. This picture book tells the story of a small girl whose mother dies, looking at the feelings and experiences she has as she tries to live with her loss.

“Although her dad is there to support and comfort her, she’s feeling very lonely – and angry,” the book’s makers say, but finding her Mum’s favourite jumper helps her learn more about herself.

“Through adopting her mum’s jumper, she discovers that grief is something she will learn not just to live with, but to grow with, and that there can be a way to feel hope for the future whilst living with loss.”

“We hope that Mum’s Jumper can act somewhat as a guide to grief, showing that grief doesn’t just go away, or get smaller over time. Grief stays with us, but with time, we grow, we learn, and we experience new things. Our grief is still there, but our world around it is bigger.”