Crumble

In Crumble, a young girl grows up in a family where emotions can be baked into food, with one important rule: never bake the bad feelings. When her aunt dies suddenly, grief overwhelms her, and in an attempt to feel better, she breaks that rule. The result is a crumble infused with sadness, guilt, and emotional numbness, one that affects everyone who eats it. As the consequences of avoiding grief unfold, the story explores how suppressing pain can harm both ourselves and others. Told through gentle magical realism, this graphic novel offers a thoughtful, relatable portrayal of bereavement, unhealthy coping, and the slow work of learning to feel hard emotions rather than hide them. This story also features real recipes that can be made at home.

• Family Use:
Supports families talking about grief after the sudden death of a loved one. The baking metaphor helps children describe heavy or confusing emotions and opens discussion about why avoiding sadness can sometimes make things harder. The included recipes provide an additional way for families to engage with the story through shared activity and conversation.

• Therapy / Counseling:
Useful for narrative and metaphor-based approaches to grief. The story supports conversations about emotional suppression, unhealthy coping, and learning to tolerate difficult feelings rather than numbing or redirecting them.

• Grief Support Settings:
Provides a shared story for middle-grade bereavement groups, especially when discussing sudden loss. Encourages reflection on how grief affects behavior and relationships over time.

• Schools & Libraries:
Well-suited for guided reading groups or SEL discussions focused on emotional regulation, metaphor in storytelling, and healthy ways to process loss. Best for older middle-grade readers within the 8–12 range.