While still grieving for her mother and unable to accept her stepmother, a girl clings to the memories represented by forty-three buttons on a string.

A boy grieves for his dead pet Mousie, helps to bury him, and begins to come to terms with his loss.

Buckley and his mother cope with the loss of their father/husband by sending small wooden boats, built by Buckley, off into the ocean.

Lily gets permission to plant a Victory Garden at the house next door, where the Bishops' son has died in the war, and slowly the garden helps Mrs. Bishop recover from her grief. Includes facts about the war and the home front.

"Louise and her family are sad over the loss of their beloved dog, Charlie. "Life will not be the same," Louise says, as she visits a little island that Charlie loved. But on a visit to the island after Charlie's death, something strange happens: She meets a bear. At first, she's afraid, but soon she realizes that the bear is sad, too. As Louise visits more often, she realizes that getting over loss takes time"--