The Great

Gracie is a courageous third-grader who comes to school with a story to share. She tells her classmates about her family’s experience of losing her baby brother who was born prematurely over the summer vacation. To help Gracie with her grief, her parents had her create a Forever Star in remembrance of her brother who will be with her forever. The class decides they also want to make Forever Stars for their family members and pets that they have lost.
Grief is more complicated for children, as they normally do not express themselves as outwardly as adults do. Rachel wanted to give parents a way to help their children, so she came up with the idea of a Forever Star. Her hope is that Gracie’s story will show children that it’s okay to feel sad when they lose a person or even a pet. They should know that their loved ones will be with them forever, shining in their hearts and represented as stars in the sky.
Rachel does not show Gracie grieving deeply because her goal was to show one way of handling grief with creativity and hope.
"Inspiring, engaging, and educational. ‘The Great’ is an invaluable resource for discussing death and bereavement with children. I am sure that this book will help to heal the wounds of loss in any family."
– Dr. Anns, Clinical Psychologist and Author of “Tell Me, I Promise I Won't Get Mad”
A special and profound thanks to Pam Halter https://www.pamhalter.com/