Author: Paul Fleischman Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Disrespect and Insensitivity for Individual and Group Differences Year of Publication: 1997 Publisher and Location: Harper Trophy: New York ISBN# 0-06-447207-8 Target Age Level: Upper Elementary/Junior High # of Pages: 70 Quality of Illustrations: B/W illustration on first page of each chapter. Helps reader visualize the characters. Brief Summary: Each chapter is a vignette of a different character who lives in a poor, Cincinnati neighborhood. A little girl starts a garden in an abandoned dump, and other characters join them. Through this garden, friendships also grow and barriers are overcome. Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: This book is very easy to read, but some students may have difficulty with the number of characters. For those students, consider using a character map or selecting just a few vignettes to focus on. Can also be used to help heal in other situations, such as a death, or illness. Activity: 1) Create a worksheet with a chart so the students can write down the character's name, the problem they are having, and how the garden helps them. 2) If possible, grow your own "garden" with the students.
Author: Celeste Shally Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Difficulties Making/Keeping Friends Year of Publication: 2007 Publisher and Location: Awaken Specialty Press: ISBN# 0979471303 Target Age Level: Lower Elementary # of Pages: 32 Quality of Illustrations: Great, colorful, and fun pictures. Brief Summary: There are two boys who are friends. One friend has mild autism. This book describes their friendship and how the "typical" friend helps his friend with autism in a variety of situations. Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: The child with autism in this book is still able to interact with peers. It is important to explain that this is not how autism looks in every situation. Activity: The "typical" friend does a lot of things to help out his friend, which may be overwhelming to some children when discussing how to befriend students with disabilities. Have the students identify all the ways the "typical" friend is able to help his friend with autism, and the characteristics of a good friend. Have the students pick one way they can help someone they know (regardless of whether that friend has a disability).
Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: insensitivity for individual and group differences.
Year of Publication: 2006 Publisher and Location: Houghton Miffin/Walter Lorraine Books - Boston, MA ISBN-10: 0618737545 Target Age Level: 4-8 Kindergarden # of Pages: 32 Quality of Illustrations: Excellent
Brief Summary: Tacky doesn’t behave like the other penguins and his friends finds him annoying. But his unique personality and out-of-the-box thinking saves the penguin community.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: It’s a lesson of tolerance on differences and an inspiration to enjoy the uniqueness on every human being.
Activity: Have children measure items in the room with different penguin feet, then write/illustrate in journals about what they did. Posted by Nalu de Araujo Nunes
Author: Sharon Flake Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Bullying or Sexual Abuse Year of Publication: 1998 Publisher and Location:New York : Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children ISBN# 0786804440 Target Age Level: Junior High, High School # of Pages: 171 Quality of Illustrations: None Brief Summary: Maleeka is a 13yr old girl who gets teased a lot because she has very dark skin. In order to raise her status at school, she becomes friends with the school bully who is very mean to her, but also looks out for her. Her situation starts to change when a new teacher comes to school and challenges Maleeka to find out who she really is. Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: All of the main characters in the book are African-American, so it may be effective in helping students who are a racial minority identify with the characters in this book. Activity: (1) One of the ways Maleeka is able to cope is by creating a story about a slave named Akeelma. Maleeka is able to work out a lot of her feelings and struggles through her writing. Have the students create their own story or have them add another entry to Maleeka's story. (2) Many of the characters in the book are bullies, victims, and bully-victims. Have the students identify the different situations and how the characters respond.
Author: Cheri J. Meiners Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Insensitivity for others Year of Publication: 2006 Publisher and Location: Free Spirit Publishing, Minneapolis, MN ISBN# 1575422034 Target Age Level: Elementary # of Pages: 35 Quality of Illustrations: Good Brief Summary: Each person is different, our differences are good. We also have similarities. We can accept and value each person for who they are. Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: It’s a bit idealistic, but it could be a very good start to increasing acceptance among children.
Activity: As a class activity - Children can make a collage about them identifying their differences and similarities. Each child can then share their collage with other students.
Author: J. Philip Miller & Sheppard M. Greene Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Respect for individual differences Year of Publication: 2001 Publisher & Location: New York: Harper Collins Publishers ISBN#: 0060293640 Target Age Level: Lower elementary # of Pages: 32 Quality of Illustrations:Excellent Brief Summary:This joyful Sesame Street song embraces the notion that no matter where children live, what they look like, or what they do, they're all the same where it counts--at heart. Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Apparently this is a Sesame Street song, so it's pretty simplistic.
Activity: Have the children draw pictures of themselves, including their own unique qualities. Discuss what is the same about people and what is different.
Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Insensitivity to individual or group differences
Year of Publication: 1999
Publisher & Location: Resort Gifts Unlimited, Inc. Tempe, AZ
ISBN#: 1-891795-03-1
Target Age Level: Elementary
# of Pages: 29
Quality of Illustrations: Very good
Brief Summary: This book is told from the standpoint of a javelina- a wild boar or collared peccary that lives in the southwest desert. While the javelina may look a lot like a pig, have a snout like a pig, and grunt like a pig, it most certainly is not a pig. Through clever rhyme the javelina describes it’s characteristics, eating habits, habitat, and personality while emphasizing the point that it is not a pig.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book: none
Post Reading Activities: Have students describe the differences between pigs and javelinas. Then lead a discussion about different ethnicities. Have students complete a Venn diagram or T-chart to point out differences (and similarities, if using a Venn diagram) about people from different ethnicities. Talk about why people feel strongly about having their ethnicity correctly identified.
Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Parent-child relationships
Year of Publication: 1998
Publisher & Location: Penguin Group
ISBN#: 9780698116870
Target Age Level: Upper Elementary
# of Pages: 128
Quality of Illustrations: none
Brief Summary: Matthew is about to have a birthday party and plans to throw himself the biggest birthday bash ever. The only problem is that his parents are not too pleased with his plans for the party. The discussions include what activities the boys will participate in and what food will be allowed at the party. Amidst the planning, Matthew runs into problems with all the girls in his grade. Eventually, Matthew and his parents resolve their differences- each of them compromising.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book: This book felt like it was written by an adult. Some of the situations and discussions seemed
Post Reading Activities: Students could write about a time when they disagreed with their parents. Have them retell the story using descriptive words that would help a reader understand the emotions the student felt during the situation. A teacher may then want to conduct a discussion about reasons that parents and children may disagree. Conflict resolution techniques could also be taught and role played.
Author/Authors: Rodman Phillbrick Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: FRIENDSHIP, DEATH, INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Year of Publication: 1993 Publisher & Location: Scholastic Paperbacks ISBN #: 0439286069 Target Age Level: Upper elementary # of Pages: 176 Quality of Illustrations: None
Brief Summary: Maxwell Kane lives with his grandparents after his father allegedly killed his mother. He is picked on and also is in special education which adds to his low self-esteem. He then meets Kevin (aka freak) who has a rare birth defect where his body does not grow like it is supposed to. Kevin is very smart and has a very active imagination. Max carries Kevin all over the place and Kevin is the “brain” of their duo friendship is called Freak the Mighty. In the end of the story, Kevin dies and Max is left with his memory of their friendship. Max’s dad also kidnaps his son and attempts to harm him as well. This story has multiple emotional/crisis issues that can be talked about.
Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Year of Publication: 1975
Publisher & Location: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston ISBN #: 0-618-07320-5
Target Age Level: Lower elementary# of Pages: 32 Quality of Illustrations: Simple illustrations with color. Same author/illustrator who does Miss Nelson is Missing.
Brief Summary:This story is about a snake who is different than other snakes. He has the ability to hear which no other snake can do. When he starts school the other snakes are not nice to him and he feels very uncomfortable about being different. However, one day his ability to hear comes in handy as he overhears bank robbers talking about robbing the bank. Thanks to his hearing, their plan is foiled and he is given a medal of honor. In the end, Snake no longer worries about being different.
Post reading activity: Talk about what makes us the same. Make a list of all of the things that everyone in the group has. For example, hair, eyes, a mouth, need to breath, are in school, etc. Then talk about what makes us different. Make a list of differences. For example, good at math, plays piano, brown hair, blue, has a hard time writing or riding a bike, etc. Ask the following questions. Has anyone ever made you feel especially good or bad about one of these differences? Who and why? What do you like the most about your differences? What do you like the least? Do you have to do things differently because of this difference? Do you know anyone else who has the same difference?
Type of emotional/crisis issues addressed: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Author/authors: Lindsay Barrett George Year of Publication: 2004 Book Title: Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse ISBN #: 0060004665; 9780060004668 Age Level: PreK; Lower Elementary # of pages: 32 Quality of illustrations: Clear and colorful, much visual interest Brief Summary: Two mice, one house mouse, one field mouse travel corresponding routes until they meet each other through a window. The book shows the parallel lives that two mice live. Even though they look different and they live in different places their day to day activities are still very similar and are cause for curious mirror imaging. I loved the story for the stimulating discussion that could be drawn from reading this book to a group of preK or Kindergarten students. Post reading activity: The book ends with the mice finding each other in an open-ended kind of way. Have the children finish the story by answering the question, “What did the mice do then?” use their answers as an opportunity to demonstrate how two mice, from two different worlds, who look very different, can still be lead similar lives, and be good friends with a lot in common.
Author: Donald R. Gallo Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Phobias, Fear, Adolescence, Anxiety, Loneliness Year of Publication: 2006 Publisher & Location: Candlewick Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts ISBN#: 076362654-6 Target Age Level: High School # of Pages: 178 Quality of Illustrations: No illustrations Brief Summary: 10 short stories about different high school students who suffer from phobias, including a fear of gaining weight, clowns, cats, string, knives, crossing the street, etc.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: In most of these stories, the main character does not overcome the phobia. The focus is on their thoughts and feelings (about hiding the phobia, about the control the phobia has over them) and how it affects their relationships. Those stories usually end with the character recognizing he/she has a problem or asking for help.
Activities:
Have the students brainstorm about or write an epilogue to one of the stories, so the student can take control of what will happen.
Have the students write a short story/journal entry about their own phobia.
Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Bullying, Ethnic diversity
Year of Publication: 2005
Publisher & Location: Boyds Mill Press, Honesdale PA
ISBN#: 1-59078-175-9
Target Age Level: Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary
# of Pages: 28
Quality of Illustrations: Very good
Brief Summary: Bilal and his sister moved from a community where there were many Muslims. Bilal’s sister is bullied because of the way she dresses. At first Bilal doesn’t want anyone to know that he is Muslim but with the guidance of a teacher, realizes how important his religion and diversity is important to him. He helps his sister the next time she is teased and begins to make new friends.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Religious content
Activities: Have students find something about their culture that is unique and special and share it with everyone else.
Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Insensitivity and Disrespect for Individual and Group Differences
Year of Publication: 1961
Publisher & Location: Random House, NY
ISBN#: 0-394-80089-3; 0-394-90089-8
Target Age Level: Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary
# of Pages: 65
Quality of Illustrations: Full color illustrations by Dr. Suess
Brief Summary: The Sneetches with stars (star-belly) are more respected than the ones without stars (plain-belly)....untilSylvester McMonkey McBean comes along with a machine to put stars on bellies. Then everyone is the same....until Sylvester suggests that plain-belly Sneetches are better. Then everyone is racing to get rid of the stars. Then everyone is racing to get a star. And the cycle continues. No one wins except Sylvester, who has made money off of his star machine and their differences.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Kids always love Dr. Suess. If you use activity portion, be careful to pay attention to kids who might be triggered. Most traumatized kids have been excluded and the activity might bring up issues in that area. Good book, good moral, easy for kids to understand. I have used this with K-12.
Activity: Make stars for about half of the students BEFORE reading story and give them out randomly but don't tell them why. Then play a game, such as "Mother May I" and give preference to kids with stars. Then switch it up so the people without stars are given preference. Then let them choose if they want a star or not without telling them who will be given preference. At the end, don't give preference to either group. Discuss the experience with the kids and then read the book. Discuss different kinds of differences and how it felt to be left out or not given preference. BE SURE TO PAY ATTENTION TO KIDS THAT MIGHT BE TRIGGERED BY THIS ACTIVITY, WHO MIGHT HAVE EXPERIENCED DISCRIMINATION DUE TO A VARIETY OF DIFFERENCES.
Another Activity:
September 2006 -- In this early grades activity, students learn about unfair practices in a simulation exercise and then create plans to stand up against discrimination.
by Rhonda Thomason
Perspective Before conducting this activity, educators may want to discuss historical information about racism and diversity issues. In the story The Sneetches, written by Dr. Seuss, yellow bird-like creatures take students on an adventure where green stars become the symbol of discrimination and privilege. After reading the story aloud, let students participate in the following activities that can be adapted with or without the story.
A special note on the simulation activity:The simulation exercise included here can help children understand the emotional impact of unfair practices. The follow-up activity on discrimination helps ensure that students understand that the goal is to change those practices, not the characteristics that make us different from one another.
Objectives:
Students will experience discrimination and develop a sense of fairness and equity.
Students will apply literature to real life experiences.
Students will become empowered to take responsibility for their environment.
Time: Varied, with more time allowed for older students
Materials
The Sneetches by Dr. Suess (Random House, ISBN# 9780394800899, $14.95)
Green construction paper, sticky dots, or washable marker
Safety pins
Suggested Procedures Read The Sneetches aloud as a whole class or in small groups.
Make a class list of class privileges, i.e. lining up first, extra points for tasks, homework passes, extra center time.
Divide the class into two groups by assigning students odd/even numbers.Half the class wears a green star or dot, using paper or a washable marker.
The group with green stars/dots is granted the privileges on the class list.
Allow an extended time for all students to have time in each group; those privileged with stars and
those without stars or privileges.
Students discuss The Sneetches and students' experiences in small groups:
How do the Star-Belly Sneetches look? How do the Plain-Belly Sneetches look?
How is the language different for plain and Star-Belly Sneetches?
When you were without a star, how did you feel about classmates with stars?
What kinds of things do we use as "stars" that make people feel special?
What makes you feel like a Plain-Belly Sneetch, a Star-Belly Sneetch?
What feelings did you have during the class activity?
What lessons did you learn?
List three actions you will take to help everyone feel like they belong.
Small groups share reflections and action ideas with the whole class.
Building on the action ideas from small group discussions, the class should brainstorm and make a list of suggestions for ending discrimination in the class or school, e.g. stop teasing. Discrimination can be defined as "unfair treatment of a person or a group."
Challenge the class to put their class list into practice and work to end discrimination.
Assist students in pairing with a classmate that is outside their usual circle of friends.
The pairs become "Fairness Teams" for several days and keep a journal of ways that they -- or others they observe -- help end discrimination.
Allow a brief time each day for teammates to share their experiences and discuss journal entries.
After several days, the whole class meets and discusses the journal entries. Each Fairness Team reflects on what they learned about putting an end to discrimination.
Encourage students to set goals for extending the activity to their homes and communities.
Team reflections and assessments can be an ongoing activity.
Rhonda Thomason is Teaching Tolerance's grants administrator and a National Board Certified Teacher in early childhood education.
This is an ongoing database of children's books that are useful when working with children and families who are experiencing crisis. This list was originally created by university students working on advanced degrees, in partial completion for a crisis intervention course. You may add books to this blog by using the template below and emailing your submission to zoopified@gmail.com.
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Posting Template
Please use the following template when posting. If available, please add a picture of the book cover. Use the Book Title for the post title, and add labels for the, type(s) of emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed. Thanks! Please use the following template when posting. If available, please add a picture of the book cover. Use the Book Title for the post title, and add labels for the, type(s) of emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed. Thanks! Author:
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