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Books that Help Kids Navigate Life’s
Problems
By Holly E. Newton
There are so many wonderful books that
help us deal with specific problems related to health, social, mental
and family issues. Here is a list of some outstanding books that
cover the gambit. And be sure to read through to the end of the
column, where there is an update on the recently-announced Caldecott
and Newbery award winners.
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The first three books are good
for all ages, while the rest are geared for ages 9 through adult.
The Lemonade Club, by
Patricia Polacco, was based on the author’s own daughter,
Traci. A fifth grade teacher has a bowl of lemons on her desk and
teaches the students throughout the school year that “when life
hands you a lemon,” with sugar and water you can make….?
The students would continually answer
“lemonade!” So when one of the students, Marilyn, learns
that she has cancer, her friend Traci, along with the entire class,
respond in such a heart warming and surprising manner that it will
be hard to read this beautiful picture book and not get emotional.
Even Polacco’s signature paintings are uplifting, with the cheery
hues of yellows and pastels.
Hair For Mama, by Kelly
Tinkham, and illustrated by Amy Bates, is a sweet picture book about
dealing with Mama’s cancer. Mama doesn’t want to have
her picture taken without her hair since she has lost it all as
a result of the chemotherapy treatments. But 8-year-old
Marcus comes up with a heartfelt solution to help his mama. Here
is a comforting book on this delicate subject.
Remembering Mrs. Rossi, by Amy Hest, is a wonderful story celebrating a wife and
mother who recently died from complications of pneumonia. This
sweet story shows how 8-year-old Annie, and her professor dad, deal
with this sad passing. Annie’s mom taught sixth grade,
and Annie and her dad are about to go to a special school program
where they are presented a large scrapbook that reflects how the
students loved her. The black and white ink drawings,
by Heather Maoine, are sprinkled throughout and add to the healing
of these two people who loved her best.
Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back!,
by Michael Winerip, is a continuation of the first book,
“Adam Canfield of the Slash” series. Adam is the co-editor
of the middle school paper along with Jennifer, his cohort and friend.
He covers some breaking news, from high school bullies to a mentally
handicapped boy. There is humor and intrigue all along the way,
making this a definite page-turner!
Click to Buy
 Jacqueline
Woodson is one of today’s most remarkable and prolific authors for
youth. Feathers was one of the contenders for the
recently-announced Newbery award. Frannie is about to experience
so many different emotions as she goes through her sixth grade year.
Her interactions with her friends, and even with her deaf brother,
begin to help her navigate through life in a positive way. This
is a beautiful story written in Woodson’s most eloquent fashion!
Firegirl, by Tony Abbott,
is an extraordinary story about the initial reactions, and then
the ensuing relationships and acceptance, of a new girl to a seventh
grade class. She has been so completely disfigured from a terrible
fire that one of the class members states, “…how
someone looking like that could even be alive."
The tremendous impact this girl leaves on the entire class is most
likely to last throughout their lives. There is so much to learn
in a book with only 145 pages!
The Book of One Hundred Truths,
by Julie Schumacher, is a very poignant book teaching the
value of telling the truth. Twelve-year-old Thea began lying several
months before due to a mistake she is still trying to cover up.
When her mother gives her a notebook to write down only truths,
she begins writing short messages that only hold the truth. Throughout
the book, Thea and her very large extended family (who are all vacationing
together), begin to fill the story and your heart. This book teaches
an important lesson that telling the truth, however difficult, is
always much better than lying.
Click to Buy
 Throwing
Shadows, by E. L. Konigsbury, stays true to
this incredible author. If you haven’t read any of her books, you’re
missing one of today’s best authors for kids. This story was first
written back in 1979, and it stresses the importance of appreciating
all that lies around us! This collection of five stories contains
the most unique encounters of a variety of people meeting and ultimately
learning from one another! It’s almost like a puzzle of life coming
together! The stories include a boy with a broken arm meeting a
senior citizen in a retirement home and a tour guide working with
an orphan he meets.
Bird Springs, by
Carolyn Marsden, tells of 11-year-old Gregory, who has just relocated
with his mom and baby sister from a Navaho reservation to a Tucson
hotel because of a severe drought. His father abandoned Gregory
and his little family after driving off in his truck — never to
return. He finds himself reflecting often of his beloved home in
Bird Springs and all that he misses there. This is a heartfelt
story of dealing with the past and looking towards the future with
renewed hope.
**
Finally, as promised, here is information
on the Caldecott and Newbery awards for 2008.
The Caldecott Medal winner for 2008
is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.
The Honor books are: Henry's Freedom Box A True
Story from the Underground Railroad by Kadir Nelson, written
by Ellen Levine, First the Egg, written and illustrated
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, The Wall: Growing Up Behind
the Iron Curtain, written and illustrated by Peter Sis and
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, written
and illustrated by Mo Willems.
The Newbery Medal winner is:
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village,
by Laura Amy Schlitz. The Honor books are Elijah of
Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis, The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt, and the aforementioned Feathers,
by Jacqueline Woodson.
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Meridian Magazine.
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