The basic reasons for children to feel sad are the loss or separation from their favorite object or person. But the idea of separation itself can trigger the feeling of sadness. Regardless of whether the loss has actually happened or the child is merely thinking it could happen, the emotional need that occurs “behind” the feeling of sadness is the need for support, feeling secure, consolation, and replacing the lost.

Picture books are focused on the following topics:
- Hedgehog is sad because he didn’t win the game / Sadness due to failure or how to teach children that it is alright to feel sad, but that the only person to compare ourselves to is us alone, that one must always try hard and try again
- Mouse is sad because he misses his parents / Sadness due to separations from parents or how to console children with simple messages when they miss the parents, how to convince them that they are safe and that their parents will be with them soon
- Piglet is sad and jealous of his brother / Sadness due to insufficient attention or how to recognize sadness in children that is “concealed” behind some other emotion like jealousy because of lack of parental attention
- Giraffe is sad because grandpa is gone / Sadness due to losing a loved one or how to explain to a child what it means to “die” and provide them with consolation after a family death