A Mama for Owen

Author: Marion Dane Bauer

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Natural Disaster, Adoption

Year of Publication: 2007

Publisher & Location: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, NY

ISBN#: 0-689-85787

Target Age Level: Pre-K, Lower Elementary

# of Pages: 15

Quality of Illustrations: Excellent!

Brief Summary: Based on a true story, a young hippo loses his mother during a tsunami. A young turtle who reminds the hippo of his own mother, becomes his adopted mother. The hippo sees similarities a differences between his hippo mother that was killed and his new ‘mother’ and briefly dealing with changes as an after math of the tsunami.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: The illustrations are excellent and the storyline simple.

Activities: Discuss how hippo must have felt when the tsunami hit. If students have more then one parent they can talk about the good similarities and differences of each one.

The Best Cat in the World

Author: Leslia Newman

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Loss and Grief-Possibly parent remarrying after the loss of a loved one

Year of Publication: 2004

Publisher & Location: Eerdmans Books, Michigan

ISBN#: 0-8028-5252-1

Target Age Level: Pre-K, Lower Elementary

# of Pages: 28

Quality of Illustrations: Good

Brief Summary: Victor loses his cat to death. His mom gets him a new one but he struggles with how different she is. He learns to remember his old cat but still sees all the wonderful different things that his new cat does and he grows to love her.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children:
Discuss with the student why it is okay to be sad when we lose someone we love and to remember what they used to do. Discuss how finding great and wonderful things in someone new doesn’t take love away for the first person, relating it directly to the situation.

Activities:
Have the students make a list or draw pictures of the things they liked about the person they lost, then have them do it for the new one (e.g. mother that left them or passed away etc… then the new step-mother).

Shizzuko's Daughter

Author: Kyuiko Mori

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Suicide, Step-Parents

Year of Publication: 1994

Publisher & Location: Fawcett Juniper, New York

ISBN#: 0449704335 OR 978-0449704332

Target Age Level: Junior High & High School

# of Pages: 210

Quality of Illustrations: None

Brief Summary: Yuki's mother, Shizuko, committed suicide when Yuki was only 11 years old. The book follows Yuki's life into young adulthood as she process her mother's death, as well as her memmories of her mother.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: The author writes in such a way to present memories and flachbacks as acceptable and normal, as well as necesary for the healing process. It presents a postitive outlook about being able to recover and move on with life, even though it may take many years.