Saturdays with Gramps

Saturdays with Gramps is a tender, heartfelt children’s picture book about grief, written to help kids process loss with warmth, comfort, and hope.

A warm hug of a book for any child who’s missing someone they love.

Saturdays were Sam’s favorite—Grampscakes dripping with syrup, lively chess matches, quiet moments spent birdwatching. Just Sam and Gramps, soaking up their special day.

But when Gramps passes away, Sam is heartbroken, and Saturdays feel empty.

With his mom’s gentle guidance, Sam begins to understand a powerful truth: even though Gramps is gone, the love they shared—and their cherished Saturday traditions—will always remain. Because, like syrup on pancakes, love sticks around.

Saturdays with Gramps is a tender, heartfelt children’s picture book about grief, written to help kids process loss with warmth, comfort, and hope. Through gentle storytelling and beautiful illustrations, it reminds readers that the bonds we build with those we love remain long after they’re gone.

This book gently:

Introduces death and grief in an age-appropriate, relatable way
Validates kids’ feelings and experiences
Encourages meaningful conversations around loss and remembrance
Offers supportive, hopeful coping tools
Serves as a helpful resource for parents, educators, and therapists navigating conversations about death and bereavement

“Saturdays With Gramps is a tender and relatable children’s picture book about love, loss, and the healing power of memory…As an educator, I really appreciated the story's developmentally appropriate presentation of loss while also providing some practical strategies for kids to try...Bader’s story would also be useful for school counselors, parents, or caregivers supporting a grieving child. This book offers comfort and a lasting reminder that “love never dies,” a message children and adults alike will remember long after the final page.” --Jennifer Senick for Readers’ Favorite, 5-Star Review

“The pain of losing a loved one can be difficult to endure, but Bader explains it using simple language that young people will understand, likening Gramps’ decline to a toy running out of batteries. The story also offers comfort: “Though our loved ones may come and go, the love we share never disappears,” Sam’s mom tells him. This will encourage kids and adults dealing with a loss to dwell on what they loved and find little ways to remember them... Takeaway: Touching story on navigating grief and the bond between kids and grandparents.” – BookLife Reviews

"This book is a wonderful tool for helping children process difficult topics such as the death of a loved one...it also explores acceptance, the process of moving on, and the idea of unconditional love... Overall, it’s a powerful and touching story, especially useful when helping children process emotions like grief and loss. For parents, educators, and therapists, this is definitely a book worth keeping on your shelves." -- Lilily for LitPick Reviews, 5-Star Review

“This simple narrative should be an effective guide for young readers experiencing a death in their own family. Through Sam’s perspective, the author outlines clear steps for coping with loss: like keeping up old habits and understanding complicated emotions… An educational but accessible picture book about how to cope with grief as a child." — Kirkus Reviews

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Saturdays with Gramps

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