AN auntie from Goldthorpe has written a new children’s book to help young people learn about grief - which is inspired by her late nephew.

Hayley Barrett, 28, recently released ‘My Brother Is An Astronaut’, a short book that explores grief through the eyes of a young child character.

She said: “When my nephew passed away, I needed a way of grieving, and this felt like a good thing to do.

“I also needed to know how to let my siblings grieve, as well as our cousins, as we have 11 between us.”

The book is written through the eyes of a young child, who believes their brother is on a grand adventure in space.

Hayley has highlighted the way the book can bring comfort to children, while gently helping them learn about grief and how to cope with it at a young age .

She added: “The book doesn’t directly mention the loss of a child until the last page.

“There’s also a dedication to my nephew on the back to help show people the book’s inspiration.

“The idea of the astronaut is to show how the character imagines his brother up in the sky, and how he tells his friends about it.

“Losing a young child is one of those situations that doesn’t really get talked about, so talking about it in a book that includes space facts and Is quite playful, seems suitable for children.”

Hayley didn’t initially write the book with intentions to publish it, but people can now buy it on Amazon - and some early readers have given the book plenty of praise.