A Monster Calls

Title:  A Monster Calls Author: Patrick Ness Illustrator:  Jim Kay Publisher:  Candlewick, 2011 ISBN:  9780763655594 Audience:  Ages 12 and up Summary:  Conor O’Malley’s mother is dying of cancer.  The treatments aren’t working but the adults around Conor-his mother, his grandmother, his visiting father from America, his teachers-allow his hopes to live.  Each day he struggles [...]

Big Cat Pepper

Name of Book:  Big Cat Pepper Author:  Elizabeth Partridge Illustrator:  Lauren Castillo Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books Audience: Ages 5-13 Summary: Big Cat Pepper belongs to a loving family. Pepper grows old and dies.  During his burial the little boy  worries if Pepper will be afraid in the deep soil but his Mama tells him [...]

Grandpa’s Soup

Name of Book:  Grandpa’s Soup Author:  Eiko Kadona Illustrator:  Satomi Ichikawa Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers Audience: Ages 5-14 Summary: After the death of his wife, Grandpa finds himself day after day alone and sad. One day, he has a sudden urge for his beloved wife’s meatball soup and he gets up and goes [...]

The Tiger Rising

Name of Book:   The Tiger Rising Author: Kate DiCamillo Cover Illustrator:  Chris Sheban Publisher:   Candlewick Press Audience:   Ages 9-12 Summary:  Twelve-year-old Rob Horton has recently moved with his father to a seedy motel in Lister, Florida.  Ever since his mother’s death, Rob has shut up his feelings in a big “suitcase” and clamped it down [...]

Don’t Laugh at Me

Name of Book: Don’t Laugh at Me Author: Steve Seskin & Allen Shamblin Illustrator: Glin Dibley Publisher: Tricycle Press Audience: All ages Summary: Don’t Laugh at Me is the poignant tale of children and adults who wear braces, are chosen last for teams, beg on street corners and yet plead for acceptance and understanding.  The [...]

UP

Name of Book: UP Author:  Adapted by Lisa Marsoli Illustrator:  The Disney Storybook Artists Publisher:   Random House Children’s Books Audience: All Ages Summary:  By tying thousands of balloons to his home, 78-year-old widower Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he [...]

Books about Abuse

This is another bibliotherapy resource for adults who are working with abused children. Abuse Povondra, Shirley. My Imaginary Friend.  ISBN# 978-1595266699.  A story told through the perspective of seven year old Kathann who has been molested.  Helps abused children to tell their own story and confront their experience with abuse. Holmes, Margaret M. A Terrible [...]

Helping Elementary Children with Grief: Pablo Remembers

Name of Book: Pablo Remembers Author: George Ancona Photographer: George Ancona Publisher: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books: New York Audience: Ages 7 – 12 Summary: Pablo Remembers is a story of one family’s tradition of remembering their relatives who have preceded them in death. Literary Elements at Work: One of the most powerful literary elements [...]

Michael Rosen’s Sad Book

Name of Book: Michael Rosen’s Sad Book Author: Michael Rosen Illustrator: Quentin Blake Publisher: Candlewick Press Audience: Intended age range: age 8-12; more suitable age range: age 13-adults. Summary: This book features a story about Michael Rosen who deals with grief at the loss his son. He shares his feelings, the ways in which he [...]

Making the Run

Name of Book:   Making the Run Author:   Heather Henson Publisher:   Joanna Cotler Books (a division of HarperCollins) Audience:   Young adults ages 16 – 21 (this books deals with mature themes of habitual drug use, sexual activity, and death). I would also lean toward using this novel primarily with females.  I would not use this book [...]