Writers on Reading
Bibliotherapy
Holiday Book Roundup - 2001
 

BIBLIOTHERAPY

When Books Help Heal
by Nancy Bleich
Headland Elementary School
Headland, Alabama
March 12, 2002

Whether a child has recently lost a family member, friend, or even their pet, these situations can be difficult or traumatic to them. Bibliotherapy is using books to heal, advise, teach, and comfort. Today, a variety of literature is available for children, parents, and teachers to use in helping children cope with difficult situations.

Using literature as a means of coping and therapy has been around for hundreds of years. Even Aristotle believed in the healing effects of literature. Essentially, bibliotherapy is using books to help people heal and solve problems.

Often parents find themselves at a loss when they have tried comforting and talking to their own children about a recent fearful circumstance. Bibliotherapy can be used to allow a child the opportunity to identify with the characters, cope with a difficult situation, reduce anxiety, and understand they are not isolated with their feelings. The younger the child, the easier it is for them to identify with a book’s character.

Using books to assist children in emotional areas needs to be given careful thought, but in-depth searching isn’t necessary. Local bookstores carry a variety of books to address this need in their children’s section, or in the self-help sections. Parents can seek assistance of school guidance counselors, media specialists, librarians, and school psychologists. Sometimes, it may be necessary to achieve a balance between home, counselors, and school personnel. Even a group approach may ease a child’s apprehensions through a piece of literature with follow up discussion. Within groups, a child may feel secure and comfortable which will lend itself to small discussions and a sense of comfort and understanding.

Dealing with divorce seems a common occurrence in our society, but not to a child. Often, they blame themselves or can’t understand why their parents are no longer living together. A variety of books are available, but recent publications include: Dinosaurs Divorce by Lauren and Marc Brown, The Not so Wicked Stepmother by Leslie Venable, Two Homes by Claire Masurel, Mama and Daddy Bear’s Divorce by Cornelia Spelman, Let’s Talk About Divorce by Fred Rogers, and It’s Not Your Fault, KokoBear by Vicki Lansky.

When a friend or family member has died, many children have extreme difficulty with death. They ask numerous questions that adults try to answer, adults may not have the proper response, or might not feel they have inadequately answered the child’s inquiry. Again, various books are available from counselors, bookstores, local libraries, and schools. Recent publications that may help include: Poppy's Chair by Karen Hesse, Lifetimes by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen, Everett Anderson's Goodbye by Lucille Clifton, The Saddest Time by Nora Simon, After Charlotte’s Mom Died by Cornelia Spelman, and Grandma’s Gone to Live in the Sky by Max Hughes, What’s Heaven? by Maria Shriver, When Dinosaurs Die by Lauren and Marc Brown, and I Miss You by Pat Thomas.

Teachers often find themselves dealing with teasing, bullying, and everyday issues of students easily making fun of others. Often this happens due to misunderstanding from the student that is causing the problems. Accepting physical and mental differences in others is necessary and important in all learning situations. To the rescue with some lists, teachers may want to check out some of these titles: Let’s Talk About Extraordinary Friends by Fred Rogers, New Ki by Katie Couric, What’s Wrong With Timmy? By Maria Shriver, Let’s Talk About Needing Attention by Joy Berry, Be Good to Eddie Lee by Virginia Fleming, Victoria’s Smile by Rita Gellar, Henry the White Wolf by Tyler and Tim Karu, Feelings by Aliki, Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting.

Do you know a child that will be making a trip to the hospital? Is additional reassurance necessary? Maybe you’d like to investigate: Going to the Hospital by Fred Rogers, Sesame Street’s A Visit to the Hospital by Paul Hautzig, The Lion Who had Asthma by Nadine Westcott, Let’s Talk About Being Afraid by Joy Berry. More titles are available at local bookstores, physicians' offices, and libraries.

Losing a pet is usually devastating to any family member. Check out Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant or the recently published 10th Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst. Actually, local veterinarians carry a variety of literature to assist with coping with the loss of pets.

The list of books available for bibliotherapy usage is varied and vast. Please check local area professionals for suggestions and assistance.
 

HOLIDAY BOOK ROUNDUP - 2001

"Reading Lessons: Giving a Child a Book Can Yield a Lifetime of Benefits"
Roxyanne Young
San Diego Union-Tribune
November 23, 2001

Holiday gift giving used to be easy. Flashy games and noisy toys were simple choices for many children, but this year is different. Kids are struggling to get a sense of perspective on recent events, a sense of something familiar and comfortable in a changing world. Never has there been a better time to curl up with a good book.

Where Anything Can Happen, and Probably Will
Fantasy and science fiction are all about The Quest, about overcoming great odds and living like a hero, no matter how humble your beginnings, and knowing that anything can happen, and probably will, eventually. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” opens in theaters this month, and the first four books of the series are out in paperback. J.R.R. Tolkein’s classic, “The Hobbit,” opens close on Harry’s heels and is being released in several versions in anticipation of the movie.

Science fiction readers will enjoy Linda Joy Singleton’s Regeneration series (Berkley, $4.50, ages 12+), about five teens cloned with super abilities who unite to stay alive and discover the truth about their top-secret past.

Fantasy fans might try “Artemis Fowl” (Hyperion, $16.95, ages 12+), a contemporary tale about fairies with attitude by Eoin Colfer, or Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” (HarperCollins, $9.95, ages 9 – 12) about the misadventures of the Baudelaire orphans, or any of the many boxed sets by favorite authors like Susan Cooper, C.S. Lewis, Bruce Coville, and Phillip Pullman.

A Sense of Self“
Kids are going to read books to reassure themselves that what they’re going through is normal,” said Susan Malk, owner of The White Rabbit Children’s Book Store in La Jolla. Whether your three-year-old is doing trampoline tricks like delightful Olivia in “Olivia Saves the Circus” (Atheneum, $16, ages 3+) by Ian Falconer, or your preteen is keeping a journal like the main character in Linda Ellerbee’s Girl Reporter series (HarperCollins, $4.50, ages 9+), the books children read shape the grownups they become.

A love of reading often starts when a child finds a book that touches them on a personal level. Told with great strength and compassion, one such story is Carlsbad author Mary Pearson’s “Scribbler of Dreams” (Harcourt, $17, ages 12+), whose main character must not only come to grips with her own deeply ingrained prejudices, but step outside of herself to help break a family feud that has gone on for over a century. “I recently received a letter from a thirteen-year-old girl who was overjoyed at how much she related to Kaitlin,” Pearson said. “She felt connected. She felt less alone. I think that's just one of the many things books can do, and as an author, that's all I can hope for.”

A Rich and Varied Race We Are, We Human Beings“
Over and over it's been shown that students who read have a wider sense of the world and a better sense of other cultures and how people around the world live,” said Encinitas author and educator Edith Fine. “Readers demonstrate curiosity, a vital trait in children as they learn and grow.” Susie Zlotnik, co-owner of Yellow Book Road in La Mesa, agrees. “I think the best thing we can do for kids is to help them develop a sense of empathy by offering them books about kids with lives that are very different from their own.”

Mem Fox’s “Whoever You Are” (Harcourt, $6, 3 – 7), illustrated by Leslie Staub, uses as a foundation those things we have in common while celebrating the differences that make each of us special.

“Esperanza Rising,” (Scholastic, $15.95, ages 9+) by Leucadia author Pam Munoz Ryan tells the story of a wealthy Mexican girl whose family loses everything and must leave their life of affluence and take refuge with the migrant farm workers of California during the Great Depression. She learns to find the value in her family and community, and what better lesson can we hope for our children now?

Heroes, History and Hope
Authors who bring history to life help nurture curiosity and wonder, as well. Based on a true story, Eve Bunting’s “Gleam and Glow” (Harcourt, $16, ages 4+), beautifully illustrated by San Diegan Peter Sylvada, is the story of Bosnian war refugees who find hope in a very unexpected place.

Verla Kay's picture book “Tattered Sails” (Putnam, $16.95, ages 4+), illustrated by Dan Andreasen, is about a family who makes the dangerous ocean voyage to the American colonies in the 1600's.

Harry Mazer’s “A Boy at War” (Simon & Schuster, $15, ages 9+), follows Adam as he struggles to understand the attack on Pearl Harbor while trying to find news of his father, a lieutenant on the U.S.S. Arizona. For a superb non-fiction account of World War II, look for historian Stephen Ambrose’s “The Good Fight: How World War II Was Won” (Atheneum, $19.95, ages 9+), complete with timelines, maps, and lots of photos.

The Snort Factor
Sometimes we just need to giggle till we snort. For sheer laugh value, read aloud “Cinderdog and the Wicked Stepcat,” (Albert Whitman, $14.95, ages 4-8), hilariously written and illustrated by Joan Holub, or look for Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants series (Scholastic, $3.99, ages 9 – 12). Be ready. The boxed set comes with a whoopee cushion.

Not just for kids
If you think Young Adult books are just for kids, think again. These novels are brimming with superb storytelling and often involve plot lines dealing with sex, racism, suicide, drug abuse, child abuse, loyalty, self-respect, love and betrayal, right and wrong, good and evil, the mythic and the mundane – heady stuff by anyone’s standards.

“Born Blue” (Harcourt, $17, mature readers ages 12+) by National Book Award winner Han Nolan is about a young woman overcoming extreme hardship and finding the strength and courage to follow a dream. It’s one of those challenging, haunting stories that stays in your head long after reading it. Harcourt is donating a portion of proceeds to the Monarch High School Project in San Diego – a school for homeless teens with a very high rate of graduates.

Mature readers will enjoy “Whale Talk,” (Harper Collins, $16.95, ages 12+) by two time California Young Reader Medal recipient Chris Crutcher, a powerful novel about a multiracial swimmer who comes to terms with the racist attitudes and athletic elitism at his high school.

“What My Mother Doesn’t Know” (Simon & Schuster, $17, ages 12+), by Sonya Sones, is a poetic, honest look at the inner longings of a girl who comes to value herself as she learns to value the inner beauty in others.

The Greatest Gift of All
It has been said that books are either mirrors, reflecting the reader’s own life experience, or windows, granting the reader a broader understanding of the world. Emily Dickinson wrote, “There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away.” Perhaps a love of reading is the best gift of all.

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