When Daddy Becomes a Star is out now.

Last week I shared why I wrote a picture book about losing a parent. Today I get to tell you it is available.

When Daddy Becomes a Star is a gentle rhyming story for children ages 4-8 who are grieving a parent or someone dearly loved. Young children do not grieve in paragraphs - their grief shows up sideways, in sleep, in play, in tummy aches. A story gives that grief a shape a child can hold, and gives you both a safe place to meet it. This book was written for exactly that moment: the bedtime question you have been bracing for, and the quiet that follows it.

Get When Daddy Becomes a Star on Amazon

Cover of When Daddy Becomes a Star, a children's picture book about grieving the loss of a father, by Dr. Sandra Munoz, illustrated by Lisa Bohart

If you are supporting a grieving child and want the fuller story behind the book, it is here: Why I Wrote a Children's Book About Grief.

And if the holidays are on your mind

My earlier picture book, The Lost Christmas Toy, follows Fiddleswerth and Santa on an adventure that lands on a simple truth: the meaning of Christmas is not in the gifts, but in love, kindness, and giving. If there is a child on your gift list, it is a sweet one to tuck away now - December always arrives faster than we expect. You can find it at fiddleswerth.com.

Both books are illustrated by Lisa Bohart, and both are made to be read together, again and again, at your child's own pace. That "again" is not your child being stuck - it is your child working. And your steady presence beside them is the most important page in the book.

Warmly,

Dr. Sandra Munoz, Psy.D., LMHC