Author: Nicola Davies
Illustrator: Laura Carlin
Interest Level: Ages 5 and Up
From the Book Jacket: On a mean street in a mean city, a girl tries to snatch an old woman's bag. But the woman will only relinquish it in exchange for: The Promise. And so begins a life-changing journey of paying forward happiness, sure to touch the hearts and imaginations of readers young and old.
Why It's On My Bookshelf: I've been looking for community builders for next year that I can read to K-5 grades. This one absolutely knocked my socks off. It's bucket filling at a deeper level. When a girl steals a purse from a woman she finds it is filled with acorns. The woman allowed her to take the purse on one condition, "If you promise to plant them, I'll let go." This is not a story about planting trees. It's about planting love, care, kindness, happiness.....all of the good. And the girl does just that. She goes from communities to cities to neighborhoods...planting. And all the while, touching people's lives and bringing with her a light to erase the darkness people feel. This book really touched me. Highly recommend.
A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful:
Author/Illustrator: Jarrett Krosoczka
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up
From the Book Jacket: Peanut Butter and Jellyfish are best of friends and swim up, down, around, and through their ocean home. Crabby is not their best friend. But when Crabby gets in trouble, will Peanut Butter and Jellyfish come to the rescue? You bet they will! This is a funny and touching story of friendships old and new, and about being brave enough to apologize.
Why It's On My Bookshelf: This story started out like a lot of other books I have read. There is some teasing going on and the one doing the mean behavior finds himself in some danger. The two friends who were experiencing the put downs do the right thing and save him.
But I really love what the author does to help Crabby (the bully in the story) turn his behavior around. He has him take responsibility. First there is an apology.....which I don't always see in books.
Then Crabby admits why he was doing all the teasing.....
What makes this book so special and AWESOME is the story goes a step further and makes everything come full circle for ALL the characters. When the teasing is happening, Peanut Butter and Jellyfish do some ignoring and are very assertive. And amends are made. That's real life and these are the skills we should be teaching kids.
A Link to This Book:
Authors: Sarah and Ian Hoffman
Illustrator: Chris Case
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up
Book Website: http://www.sarahandianhoffman.com
From the Book Jacket: Some kids say boys can't wear "girl" clothes - but why not? Jacob loves playing dress-up, when he can be anything he wants to be - a pirate, a bird, a fireman! But he also wants to just be himself and wear his favorite thing... a dress!
Now Jacob has a new dress that he made himself and what he wants most of all is to wear it to school. Will Mom and Dad let him? This heartwarming story speaks to the unique challenges faced by boys who don't identify with traditional gender roles.
Why It's On My Bookshelf: This is such a supportive and wonderfully written book for gender nonconforming children. I was delighted to see it was published and can only imagine what a wonderful help it will be to children and families.
As a school counselor, I'd like to not just see this on my bookshelf but on the shelves in school libraries and teachers' classrooms. We are part of these kiddos support teams. We have a responsibility to educate kids that there is not a single thing wrong with gender nonconformity. Books have power and can teach acceptance. I think this is a book to be shared with ALL children.
A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful:
