Loss and Grief in

Martha struggled with her own emotions as she read Tough Boris (Fox, 1998) to her preschool children during story time. She had received a phone call earlier in the morning that informed her that Cassie, the children’s classmate, died the previous day while undergoing open heart surgery. Although Martha was unsure how the children would react, she knew that each child would need her support. Her first step in that support was to read the story to them. She chose Tough Boris, a book for young readers that tells a story about the death of a tough pirate’s parrot