Love & Friendship

• Judith Caseley. Harry and Willy and Carrothead. Greenwillow. Ages 5-9.
  Three friends with different disabilities. Harry has no left arm (and is so comfortable with his prosthesis), Carrothead hates his red hair, and worst of all....Harry has to get over being such a bully.
• Holly Keller. Lizzie's Invitation. Greenwillow. Ages 5-8.
  When Lizzie's friend passes out party invitations in school, Lizzie doesn't get one. A great book to talk about rejection.
• Maryann Macdonald. Rosie Runs Away. Atheneum. Ages 4-8.
  Rosie feels ignored because her brother Fat Mat takes all mother's attention, so she runs away. From the distance she travels, she reevaluates and decides that her family needs her. Rosie faces other emotional issues in her growing up in other books, always with depth. In Rosie and the Poor Rabbits, for example, she discovers what true giving is.
• Sam McBratney. Guess How Much I Love You. Candlewick. Ages 2-6.
  At bedtime, Little and Big Nutbrown Hares compete to explain the vastness of love they have for each other.
• Marcus Pfiester. Rainbow Fish To the Rescue. North-South Books. Ages 3-8.
  All the fish are rejecting the one who doesn't look like them, the rainbow fish is caught between the beliefs of his friends and his integrity.
• Liz Rosenberg. The Scrap Doll. HarperCollins. Ages 4-8.
  Lydia's disappointed when her mother can't afford to buy her a new doll and instead hands down her old rag doll. Lydia learns that loving and caring for the doll makes her beautiful.
• Hans Wilhelm. I'll Always Love You. Crown. Ages 4-8.
  The young boy is the story is grief-stricken when his dog dies. He heals by remembering he's told his dog that he loves it every day!

Faith

• Ruth Krauss. The Carrot Seed. HarperCollins. Ages 2-5.
  Ancient title, but it still works today. The story of a little boy who continues to believe though all around him question...and his faith is justified at the story's end.
• Mary Hoffman. Amazing Grace. Dial. Ages 5-9.
  Grace battles sex and race discrimination and because of determination and belief in her self, triumphs.
• Shirley Hughes. Alfie Gets in First. Morrow. Ages 4-7.
  Young Alfie faces childhood difficulties like separation and first birthday party and moves through his fears to happy endings.
• Marissa Moss. But Not Kate. Lothrop. Ages 4-8.
  Kate believes that everyone has a special gift...except her. When she becomes magician's assistance at a school assembly, Kate is put in touch with her special magic.
• George Shannon. Lizard's Song. Morrow. Ages 4-8.
  Lizard sings a beautiful song of self and home. Bear coveting the song, steals lizard away and tries to capture the song, but he can't learn it. Only when he sings is own song, is he happy.
• Ellen Stoll Walsh. Pip's Magic. HBJ. Ages 3-6.
  A little lizard who's afraid of the dark quests for someone to solve his problem. By the story's end he learns that he is his own salvation if he puts faith in his ability.

Right, Wrong, and in Between

• Juanita Havill. Jamaica's Find. Houghton Mifflin. Ages 4-8.
  Jamaica is one the most real characters in children's literature...her behavior's not always pretty, but by the end of every book she's sorted things out. In this book, she takes something that doesn't belong to her.
• Keiko Kasza. The Wolf's Chicken Stew. Putnam. Ages 4-8.
  Gluttonous Wolf works hard to fatten up a plump chicken. When he discovers that she's the mama of many chicks, he has to readjust his expectations.
• Ellen Stoll Walsh. Hop Jump. HBJ. Ages 3-6.
  Betsy prefers dancing to jumping like other frogs. She lives her beliefs courageously, but also defends the rights of others to do the same.

Feelings, Large and Small

• Kevin Henkes. Sheila Rae, the Brave. Greenwillow. Ages 4-8.
  Sheila Rae isn't afraid of anything....until she gets lost. She's "rescued" by the younger sister who looks up to her.
• Hans Wilhelm. A Cool Kid-Like Me. Crown. Ages 5-8.
  A young boy, best understood by his grandmother, receives a teddy bear to talk to. When his parents discount the gift, he suddenly realizes he isn't as cool as the world perceives. A good look at inside, hidden feelings.
• Audrey Woods. Quick as a Cricket. Child's Play. Ages 1-4.
  A lovely rhyming primer of early childhood feelings. A great follow up by the same author: The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear, a young book about sharing.

Differences are OK

• Jane Cowen-Fletcher. Mama Zooms. Scholastic. Ages 2-5.
  A young boy describes the joy of discovering the world from the vantage point of his mom's wheel chair.
• Keiko Kasza. A Mother for Choco. Putnam. Ages 3-6.
  A young bird who searches for a mother realizes that she doesn't have to look like him, only to care for him.
• Peggy Rathman. Ruby the Copycat. Scholastic. Ages 5-8.
  Ruby, new in school, tries to copy a popular peer. By the story's end she reveals her own true gifts and is admired for them.
• Jeanne Titherington. Sophy and Auntie Pearl. Greenwillow. Ages 3-6.
  When Sophy wakes one morning she discovers she can fly. No one in her family seems to care, but her older Aunt, who has the same gift. Together the two enjoy a joyous romp.

©Susie Wilde 1998