The New York Life Foundation was created to support children in need, with a special focus on childhood grief.
They wanted a PSA for PBS that highlighted this fact: 1 in 14 children loses a parent or sibling by age 18.
We wrote a children’s book trilogy instead.
In addition to the :60s films voiced by Maya Rudolph, we printed thousands of books to give to families ❤️
Book 1: The Golden Sweater - A story of how mementos can be a powerful way to keep loved ones close to our hearts.
Book 2: The Girl with the Locket - A story that teaches the importance of opening up about loss to a friend.
Book 3: The Fishless Lake - A story about continuing traditions and keeping memories of a loved one alive.
The Hardcover Books - Here are some close ups of the books. They were even rewritten in Spanish.
Design and Layout - We used the side flaps to give advice and information to kids and parents, directly from Kai and his mom.
Both main character children had spirit animals, whose color and expression changed to mirror the children’s emotions.
Print Placements - The WSJ, Forbes, and Bloomberg donated media for the series during Children’s Grief Awareness Month.
I took these pictures at my grandma‘s house with my phone… they’re not the best. But she and my mom are very proud.
On KaisJourney.org, you can download PDFs of the books, along with a discussion guide and workbooks.
The New York Life Foundation matched downloads of each book with donations up to $350,000.