The first three books are good for all ages, while the rest are geared for ages 9 through adult.
M E R I D I A N M A G A Z I N E
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!
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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.
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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
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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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