Book Review: Missing Mommy - A Book About Bereavement

Author/ Illustrator: Rebecca Cobb
Interest Level: Ages 3 and Up

From the Book Jacket: With warmth, reassurance, and empathy, Missing Mommy addresses the loss of a parent from a child's point of view. This touching story explores the many emotions a  bereaved child may experience, from anger and guilt to sadness and bewilderment. Ultimately, Missing Mommy focuses on the positive - the recognition that the child is not alone but is still part of a living, supportive family. 

Why It's On My Bookshelf: As a counselor I am very familiar with the stages of grief. As I read Missing Mommy, I felt like author Rebecca Cobb was taking me through them. This is a book for the child who wants to open up and it's also for the child who needs to be silently validated. The story has a compassionate feeling as it describes heartache, anger, sadness, and finally acceptance surrounding the death of a parent. But I will always remember her. I know how special I was to my mommy and she will always be special to me. Extremely happy to have this as a new resource for children and families.

A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful:

Pin It

New Book on Bullying

Bully
Author/Illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Interest Level: Ages 5 and Up
Available: July 16, 2013

From Publisher's Weekly:
Seeger (Green) uses boldly inked barnyard animals to tell her story about bullying, casting a bull in the title role. The trouble starts when the young bull is rejected by an older one: “Go away!” it shouts. The young bull is shaken, but he’s learned something—how to hurt others. When a rabbit, chicken, and turtle in the barnyard ask him to play, he grumps “No,” then hurls insults at them, names that are no more than the literal truth. “Chicken!” he yells at the chicken, who jumps in the air. “Slowpoke!” he shouts at the turtle. “You stink!” he screams at a skunk. The more he abuses the others, the larger he grows, his angry bluster feeding his self-importance. At last a goat speaks truth to power: “Bully!” the goat cries. “Bully?” the bull repeats to himself. All the inflated air blows out of him, and he tosses and tumbles across a spread like a balloon let loose. Tearfully, he makes peace. Seeger’s pages pop with action, and the lesson couldn’t be clearer.

It is so important to me as a school counselor that students do not become bored and desensitized with my books - because then my message is lost. So when a new book like Bully comes along I get so excited knowing I can continue to deliver bully prevention with STELLAR stories. This is a no brainer for me - Pre-Ordered! Can't wait to get it. Looks like a super creative way to teach kids how bullying starts and love that it ends with peace.

Pre-Order Your Book Here:

Pin It

Book Reviews: Hugs From Pearl and Perfectly Percy

Porcupine problem-solving anyone? Me me me! I just discovered these lovely books about two (yes, two books!!) adorable porcupines who are great little problem solvers.  Their persistence and never give up attitude is exactly what we need kids to understand and apply in their own lives. Pearl and Percy help children to remember that problem EQUALS solution. Hoping for a third book! Porcupine role models. Heart them!

Hugs from Pearl
Author/Illustrator: Paul Schmid
Interest Level: Ages 4-8
Pearl is sweet. She goes to Wildwood School. She's a very good friend to have. Best of all, Pearl loves to hug. Hugs are nice... except when they come from a porcupine. And you know what Pearl is! How (besides carrying a lot of bandaids) will Pearl handle things?  A friendly porcupine figures out how to give hugs without hurting others with her sharp quills. 

Perfectly Percy
Author/Illustrator: Paul Schmid
Interest Level: Ages 4-8
Percy the porcupine loves balloons but he must find a way to keep them from popping. Percy shows that there is no problem too big for a plucky porcupine to solve!  

A Link to These Books: 

Pin It

Guest Post! Book Review: Hero Mom

Author:  Melinda Hardin

Illustrator:  Brian Langdo

Suitable for: Ages 6 and Up

I saw Hero Mom on Amazon and I immediately thought of my friend Barbara Gruener who is an amazing school counselor and blogger extraordinaire over at The Corner on Character.  I would consider Barbara one of the school counselor experts when it comes to connecting, understanding, and caring for military families and children. Click HERE to read some of the amazing things Barbara has done to honor and acknowledge military families. And today she writes a guest post all about this wonderful new book - Hero Mom.

Why It's On Barbara's Bookshelf:  From the author of Hero Dad, and just in time for Mothers' Day, comes a book that focuses on the women in military who are not only soldiers, but also moms. Sometimes these hero moms serve close to home. But often times, these hero moms are sent far, far away. When that happens and these women deploy, it requires that they put their job as a mom on a back burner for a bit so they can serve their country. This book is simply powerful because it shines a light on the different jobs a military mom might get to do in a military job. And yet, they are, first and foremost, heroes in their role as mom. 

Use this book as an avenue for creating an awareness in young citizens about a soldier's sacrifice. These heroes willingly put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe and free. Cultivating respect, admiration, and gratitude for those who serve is a gift we must give our children. That's why last year at this time, we partnered with a local Jewelry Store to send Pamper-Yourself care packages to our deployed soldiers for Mothers' (and Fathers') Day. Our students wrote thank-you notes to these heroes and we sent fun stuff like scented lotions, flavored coffees, and Girl Scout cookies along with the basic-need supplies we'd collected. It felt amazing to support our deployed troops in this caring way. The bonus fun for us happened when we got to watch the soldiers open our boxes from their barracks in Afghanistan on the big screen in our cafeteria as we chatted with them via Skype (just like the mother and child in the book). We found that connecting with them truly was just a click away.

This book would also be the perfect lead-in to a Mothers' Day writing assignment; your mom doesn't have to work in the military to be a Hero Mom! Ask your students what their mom does that makes her a hero. Maybe her super power is her smile. Or it could be that she's a trustworthy carpool driver. Her super power might be caring 'cause she's the first one to make a meal for someone in need. Or maybe it's her positive attitude that makes her your hero. Have students draw a portrait of their very own hero mom and write a book, letter, or essay about their mom's super power. It'd also make a wonderful read-aloud at your Mommy Makeovers or Mothers' Day Tea. Enjoy!

Barbara Gruener is an elementary school counselor at Westwood Elementary. Barbara is a published author whose work has appeared in magazines such as Teaching Tolerance, Teaching K-8, and Daughters. She also has a wonderful blog full of helpful resources called The Corner on Character and writes for the website Character Counts!  

A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful:




Pin It

Book Review: Peace, Baby

Author: Linda Ashman
Illustrator: Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
Interest Level: Grades K-2

From the Book Jacket: When you want to push and shout, hoot and holler, punch or pout, breathe in slowly. Let it out....Say: Peace, baby!

Friends grab toys. Siblings don't share. Life's not fair - but we can be! A frustrating day may feel overwhelming, but everyone wins with peace, baby. Acclaimed author Linda Ashman's gentle clever rhymes will inspire readers of all ages to find peace within themselves, peace with one another, and peace with the world. 

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Lately it's been feeling like there are some kids in my school struggling with conflict. When they are frustrated, upset, or mad I'm noticing instead of choosing a peaceful solution they are really hurting the other child's feelings. Towards the end of the school year students can forget kind ways to solve problems. Now seemed like a perfect time to do some re-teaching about keeping your cool.

This book has really inspired me to spread the word about PEACE! Peace, Baby! It is so PERFECT for my refresher lessons on conflict resolution. Each page shows a child in the midst of a conflict, then the next page shows them making a caring choice with the words "Peace, Baby!"  Kids are now shouting to me from across the playground, "Mrs D! Peace, Baby!!" Excellent!

A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful:


   Pin It

Book Review: Penny and Her Marble

Author/Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up
Other Books in This Series: Penny and Her Doll,Penny and Her Song 
 
From the Book Jacket: When Penny spots a marble in Mrs. Goodwin's front yard, she picks it up, puts it in her pocket, and takes it home. It's a beautiful marble - it's big, shiny, blue, smooth, and fast, and Penny loves it. But does the marble really belong to Penny?

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I'm always thinking about how I can help the students in my school build character. Enter Penny. Guilt. Remorse. These are the feelings you have when you do not practice integrity and honesty. This is what happens to Penny. She takes something that does not belong to her and at first she is excited by her new item. But eventually it starts to eat at her because it does not belong to her. She pretty much can't function until she does the right thing - put it back where she found it. I just absolutely love this story. It represents the important morals and values we want to teach our children. Love Love! More Please!

A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful: 

Pin It

Book Review: All Kinds of Friends

Author: Norma Simon
Illustrator: Cherie Zamazing
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up

From the Book Jacket: In the spirit of her classic books, Norma Simon leads us through a celebration of friendship; school friends, family friends, grown-up friends, even pet friends! Thoughtful, reassuring, and exuberantly illustrated, All Kinds of Friends invites children to see themselves - and their friends - on every page.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: One of the reasons I started my blog was because of all the outdated books I inherited at my current school. I kept thinking, there is no way I can read these to the kids. One was a book explaining friendship - I think the kids were in bell bottoms in the pictures. Lets just say it was a flop and I felt embarrassed even reading it. So when I received All Kinds of Friends in the mail last week - that memory popped into my head. This new book is anything but outdated. It speaks to kids about friendship and tells them exactly what it is in MODERN times.

I have many friendship stories involving characters but not a lot of books explaining and defining friendship. The only other book I have is How to Be a Friend: A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them. Again, I need new ones! I often get teacher requests for these kinds of books to use in the beginning of the school year for community building. I'm so excited to share this one with them.

All Kinds of Friends is an excellent resource for teaching kids the basics of friendship. It will work wonderfully in group counseling, one on one, classroom guidance lessons, and I encourage teachers and librarians to get it in their libraries. I was also thinking this will be great to read to my daughter as she grows into toddlerhood. Go Friendship!

 A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful:

Pin It

Book Review: Katie and the Puppy Next Door

Author/Illustrator: John Himmelman
Interest Level: Ages 3 and Up

From the Book Jacket: Katie is surprised when Ruby, the puppy next door, comes for a visit. Ruby runs right into Katie's house and starts playing with Katie's favorite things. She even eats Katie's food! Katie thinks this is terrible, and chases Ruby away. But Sara Ann is disappointed. She wants Katie to share. She says sharing is fun. But Katie has her doubts about that!

Why It's On My Bookshelf:  I am a HUGE fan of the first Katie book Katie Loves the Kittens. This time author/illustrator John Himmelman tackles sharing. When Katie begrudgingly gives in to sharing with Ruby she discovers you get out of a friendship what you put into it. There are many paths to friendship and the importance of sharing is just one of them. Lets direct our kids towards generosity. Thank you Katie for teaching our children and I hope we see even more stories in the future!
 
A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful: 

Pin It

Book Review: When No One Is Watching

Author: Eileen Spinelli
Illustrator: David A. Johnson

Book Description:  When no one is watching, it's easy to be brave — to dance and sing, growl and cheer. But when everyone's watching, this book's shy young narrator finds it far easier to hide. With her best friend, Loretta, though, she doesn't feel shy, embarrassed, awkward, or odd — not one bit. Together they're like two peas in a pod, whether anyone's watching or not.

Any readers who have felt shy will certainly recognize themselves within the pages of this adorable book, which will encourage even the most timid of audiences with its celebration of the value of a good friend.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: Kids who struggle with shyness need me, especially in school. Children can be helped when we set an optimistic tone for them. So I'm always looking for books reminding kids they are awesome the way they are. So how can I help shy kids? With a great new book by Eileen Spinelli - When No One is Watching. When students have a connection to a story it can open doors for them. Books can help release feelings of fear. I'm a believer.

A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful:

Pin It

Book Reviews: Kindness Books

Lately I've been on a campaign for kindness with our students. I'd been feeling like I was reading too many books telling kids what NOT to do. Nothing wrong with that but it was time to shift gears. It's nice to use books plum full of kindness. It creates a different type of conversation and focus during the lesson. Here are two amazing discoveries (which both happen to have a knitting theme) I've been using to encourage kids to let their caring side shine....

Extra Yarn
Author: Mac Barnett
Illustrator: Jon Klassen
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up

From Publishers Weekly: Annabelle finds a box filled with yarn of every color, she immediately sets out to knit sweaters for everyone she knows. Barnett’s story is both fairy tale lean and slyly witty. No matter how many sweaters Annabelle knits, the box always has “extra yarn” for another project, until the entire town is covered with angled stitches in muted, variegated colors—people, animals, and buildings alike. A villainous archduke offers to buy the box, but Annabelle refuses. He steals it, but finds it contains no yarn at all, and with the help of just a bit more magic, it finds its way back to Annabelle. Barnett wisely leaves the box’s magic a mystery, keeping the focus on Annabelle’s creativity, generosity, and determination.

The Mitten Tree
Author: Candace Christiansen
Illustrator: Elaine Greenstein
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up

From the Book Jacket: On a snowy day old Sarah notices that a little boy at the bus stop has no mittens. Worried that he couldn't join in the winter fun, Sarah gathers together her yarn and knits mittens for the little boy, placing them on the blue spruce tree at the bus stop early the next morning. 

Each day thereafter the children look for new mittens, and every day Sarah knits new ones. One morning she covers every branch with bright new mittens for the children. Though she has used up all her yarn, Sarah returns home with a full heart and discovers a wonderful surprise waiting on her porch.

A Link to These Books and Others You Might Find Helpful:

Pin It