Children’s books that make you cry

[BikeRunSki]

When DD (now 6) was younger I could never finish The Paper Dolls without shedding a tear.

Tonight, we’be just finished the Sophie series (Dick King-Smith). The last 2 or 3 chapters had me crying my eyes out. DD was “but Mummy, it’s only a book’”.

[BitOfFun]

Carrie's War makes me howl.

[Latenightreader]

I refused to have The Happy Prince in my room when I was small and The Little Match Girl reduced me to howls every time.

These days Marilla and Anne after Matthew's death in Anne of Green Gables, and not so much the death in Rilla but Monday greating Jem at the station.

The third book in Judith Kerr's trilogy A Small Person Far Away. Anna and her brother go to an exhibition about her late father and are caught unawares by a lifesized photo of him.

[Frequency]

I used to love The Little Match Girl when I was young and my mum would always refuse to read it to me. I never did understand why, until I bought it for my first child. In my head, the little match girl went to live with the family with the turkey and was happy

The velveteen rabbit, I remember being traumatised by but not the entire story (she was ill, rabbit helped her through but was tainted and had to be destroyed?) I do know I was never inclined to buy it as per The Little Match Girl.

Goodbye Mog, I bought on MN's suggestion when my family dog was dying, to help explain it to the children. And boy, was that a mistake. It arrived the day after I had to take her to be put to sleep because my parent's couldn't face it. I used it, before reading it, to explain Bessie had gone to heaven. We were traumatised for months!

[yikesanotherbooboo]

What a lot of memories .
I could hardly cope with Mog and the Bunny , never mind Mog's demise. Judith Kerr and Shirley Hughes keep getting mentioned. As writer illustrators the words and pictures are completely integrated and the subj ct matter is so relatable for families. They are geniuses I think.i totally agree about Peepo too.
I was a bookworm as a child but made a decision quite early on never to read 'animal 'books. This was not through a lack of interest in natural history but to avoid putting myself through what seemed to be the inevitable death of the beloved animal at the end, see Black Beauty, Ring of Bright Water etc.
I had to steel myself to avoid passing on my prejudices to the DC but they are made of sterner stuff.