"Peanut Butter and Donner: Sweet Annie's Grieving Tree" is a gentle, emotionally attuned picture book about grief, friendship, and healing designed to help young children navigate big feelings in developmentally appropriate ways. Through the eyes of three animal friends-a shy bunny named Peanut Butter, an outgoing and confident parakeet named Donner, and a new friend, Sweet Annie the duck-readers are guided through the experience of loss with warmth, empathy, and hope.
When Annie arrives one morning, looking quiet and sad, her friends notice something is different. With tenderness and patience, they create space for her to open up and learn that someone she loves has gone away. Instead of offering quick fixes or cheerful distractions, her friends stay with her during this hard moment, offering quiet company, shared memories, and small acts of love. Together, they discover that grief doesn't look the same for everyone and that they each had their own experience with grief, each dealing with their emotions differently, which allowed it all to be ok. They learned through each other that healing happens in soft, everyday moments of connection and that time allows for the creation of a new normal.
Written by licensed therapist Erin Rosenblum and illustrated by Aubree Rosenblum, "Peanut Butter and Donner: Sweet Annie's Grieving Tree" draws from her clinical experience, personal loss, and deep respect for children's emotional worlds. It's the second book in the "Peanut Butter and Donner" series, a collection of heartfelt animal stories rooted in empathy, emotional literacy, and relational safety. This story explores the wide range of grief-not just death, but also losses stemming from natural disasters, disrupted routines, big life transitions, or unexpected goodbyes.
With soothing rhymes, inclusive emotional language, and expressive illustration, this book helps children:
Understand and name feelings of grief and sadness.
Learn that all feelings are welcome.
See how empathy and presence can support someone in pain.
Build emotional resilience and trust in their own healing process.
Ideal for ages 5 to 10, this book is a trusted resource for:
Grief books for kids and preschoolers.
Children's books about loss and emotional expression.
Parents, therapists, educators, and caregivers looking for gentle conversation starters about sadness and change.
Community helpers and first responders supporting children through trauma or displacement after a natural disaster.
Whether you are helping a child process a death, a move, a fire, or a sudden change.
Whether used at home, in the classroom, in the field, or in a therapy setting, this story reminds us that being present and loving is often the most powerful thing we can offer.