Writing picture books about sensitive topics like grief, anxiety, or divorce isn’t simple. But it’s so needed. Stories like these can make a real difference for children who are facing tough emotions, and for you as the author, they offer a powerful way to share a message that truly matters.

Writing Picture Books About Sensitive Topics (And Doing It Well)

The Kidlit Creator’s Chronicle Issue #46

Today, let’s go over something important, and yes, a little tricky.

Writing picture books about topics like grief, anxiety, or divorce isn’t simple. But it’s so needed. Stories like these can make a real difference for children who are facing tough emotions, and for you as the author, they offer a powerful way to share a message that truly matters.

If you’ve ever felt drawn to write about one of these sensitive topics but found yourself wondering…

“Is this too heavy for a picture book?”

“What if I don’t get it right?”

“Will parents even want to read this to their child?”

…those are real and valid questions.

Writing books like this takes care, intention, and empathy. But when done well, they can bring hope, healing, and connection, which are so needed for children (and quite possibly the adults reading to them).

You can absolutely write picture books about sensitive topics beautifully and appropriately.

It’s all about how you approach it.

The goal isn’t to explain the issue. The goal is to honour a child’s emotions.

So let’s look at how to write stories that feel honest but not overwhelming, and full of emotion, while still being age-appropriate.

Specifically, we’ll cover how to:

  • Honour a child’s emotions (not just an adult’s intentions)
  • Offer comfort without preaching
  • Create space for big feelings without overwhelming the reader
  • Invite important conversations

A beautiful example is The Goodbye Book by Todd Parr.

How To Write About Sensitive Topics

Step Into the Child’s Shoes

One of the biggest mistakes I see new authors make is writing about the issue instead of writing to the child.

Don’t explain grief in a picture book. Show what it feels like to miss someone. Don’t try to teach about anxiety. Walk alongside a child who feels afraid, and help them find the words for that fear.

Your story should reflect a child’s world, not an adult’s interpretation of it.

Ask yourself:

  • What would a child notice in this situation?
  • What might they feel but not quite understand?
  • What small, specific moment could capture a big feeling?

Those questions will guide you.

Use Simple, But Impactful, Language

You don’t need flowery language or poetic metaphors to write something powerful. In fact, the simpler your words, the more the story often resonates.

Aim for language that’s clear and specific, honest but gentle, and rooted in real emotions and sensory detail.

Instead of: “Sometimes life changes in hard or complicated ways.”

Try something concrete and childlike:

“Daddy lives here. Sometimes I am with Daddy.
Mommy lives there. Sometimes I am with Mommy.
So… I have two homes!”

(From Two Homes by Claire Masurel)

Specific language helps children process reality in a way they can understand.

Offer Safety Without Fixing Everything

Stories about sensitive topics don’t always need to end with everything resolved or perfectly happy. What matters most is that they offer hope, or at least a sense of emotional safety.

That sense of safety can come through a comforting adult presence, a reminder that the child is not alone, or a moment of connection. A glimpse that feelings are allowed, and that they’re survivable.

Any one of those can be enough.

Don’t Lecture

If your story starts to sound like a therapist giving advice or a teacher explaining a lesson, children will tune out and so will the adults reading to them.

Watch out for:

  • Moralising: “You should always talk about the terrible thing that happened to you.”
  • Diagnosing: “Liam had social anxiety disorder.”
  • Over-explaining feelings that children could understand in a single image

Let the emotional journey unfold naturally, trust the illustrations to carry some of the message, and let the main character lead the way.

Use Symbolism or Metaphor When It Serves the Story

Some of the most powerful sensitive-topic books use symbolism and metaphor.

A red tree appearing in a dark room to represent hope (The Red Tree by Shaun Tan).

A heart kept in a bottle after loss (The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers).

A heavy invisible dragon sitting on a boy’s chest (My Big Dumb Invisible Dragon by Angie Lucas).

Symbolism can be powerful, but only when it makes the story clearer, rather than obscuring its meaning.

Before you commit to a metaphor, check that it’s age-appropriate, simple enough to follow, and grounded in experiences children can actually relate to.

Get Specific With Your Message

Before you finish your manuscript, ask yourself: What do I want the child to walk away with? What conversation do I hope this book opens up? Can the child feel that message, rather than just being told it?

Try to distil the heart of your story into one simple, childlike idea. Something like:

  • “It’s okay to be sad. Being sad doesn’t mean something is wrong with you.”
  • “Even if something big changes, you’re still loved.”
  • “You can feel scared and still be brave.”

Once you know that one idea, everything else in your story becomes easier to direct.

End With Hope

Your story doesn’t need a big, dramatic ending. Some of the most memorable endings are actually quite simple and understated, leaving the child with peace, comfort, strength, or connection. Not a resolution to everything, just a gentle step in the right direction.

A Different Way to Think About This

I’ve often chatted to authors who, understandably, believe that sensitive topics are too much for picture books. But children are already living these realities. The topic isn’t what makes a book too heavy for children. The approach is what determines that.

Instead of explaining trauma, make it okay to experience big emotions. Instead of fixing everything, offer safety. Instead of preaching, invite connection.

That’s really what separates the sensitive-topic books that work from the ones that don’t – not the subject matter, but how the book is written.

Books Already Doing This Well

Picture books today tackle a wide range of sensitive topics, including:

What these books do well is create room for the emotions – letting the child feel seen and understood, without needing everything to be explained or fixed. That’s the shift worth making.

Try This With Your Manuscript

If you’re working on a sensitive-topic manuscript right now, try completing these three sentences:

  1. “This is a story that helps kids feel __________ when __________.”
  2. “The child in this story feels __________ and notices __________.”
  3. “By the end, the child knows that __________.”

Once you’ve mapped out that emotional arc, the writing becomes clearer, and the story connects more deeply with both children and adults.

If you’re taking on writing about something hard, I’d love to hear what topic you’re exploring.

Let me know!

Writing about hard topics isn’t always easy. But when you approach it with care, you give children a way to understand their feelings and know they’re not alone.

These stories might not be the flashiest books on the shelf, but they’re often the ones that stay with a child long after the last page.

So keep going. The story you’re working on could be the one that helps a child feel seen.

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