By Jan Pease
January 2014 marks the beginning of my 23rd year of working at the Litchfield library. Now, this isn’t one of those retrospectives, because I have a few more years to work, I hope. Children’s books have changed over the years; some changes are for the better, some changes may be not so good.
You all know how much I love picture books, just for the pure enjoyment of pictures and text together. Sometimes picture books have a dual purpose, helping children learn about and cope with difficult times. We worked with Julie Jansen of Heartland Community Action Agency’s Healthy Foundations Project to develop a bibliography of books that can be used by parents and care providers to help children deal with hard times. This bibliography was given to local daycare providers, and copies are available at the library. Heartland also donated funds which were used to place 19 books in various communities that they serve, including Litchfield.
Here are the titles:
I Love you Like Crazy Cakes, by Rose Lewis, and I Wished for You, by Marianne Richmond, which are both about adoption.
Mom has Cancer, by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos, and The Goodbye Cancer Garden, by Janna Mathies, books written to help families understand and cope with moms who are seriously ill with cancer.
A Terrible Thing Happened, by Margaret M. Holmes, a book written for children who have witnessed violence or trauma.
The Recess Queen, by Alexis O’Neill, a book about bullying at school.
Bear Feels Sick, by Karma Wilson, a book about a bear whose friends take care of him when he is sick.
Night Catch, by Brenda Ehrmantraut, and Love, Lizzie, by Lisa Tucker McElroy, both stories about children whose parents are deployed. I Miss You Every Day, by Simms Taback, a story for anyone who misses someone.
Nine titles help teach children about the reality of death. I Wish I Could Hold Your Hand, by Dr. Pat Palmer, Samantha Jane’s Missing Smile, by Julie Kaplow and Donna Pincus, Goodbye Mousie, by Robie H. Harris, Gentle Willow, By Joyce C. Mills, PhD., and I Miss You, by Pat Thomas are all written to be read to a grieving child.
A Child’s View of Grief, by Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD., When Children Grieve, by John W. James and Russell Friedman, Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children, by Liana Lowenstein, and Talking About Death, by Earl A. Grollman, are all written for adults to help them guide children through the grief process.
A Child’s View of Grief, by Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD., When Children Grieve, by John W. James and Russell Friedman, Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children, by Liana Lowenstein, and Talking About Death, by Earl A. Grollman, are all written for adults to help them guide children through the grief process.
All in all, this is an impressive group of books. Thanks, Heartland Community Action Agency and Julie, for helping make this collection possible. I’m displaying them on the end of the children’s desk for a couple of weeks, and they will be available through the Pioneerland Library System catalog. See you at the library!
