Illustrated by Denise Gilgannon. 59 p., Childswork/Childsplay, 2000.
Penelope Penguin, an elementary school student, gets so angry - justifiably - when Splashy taunts her about her diving skills that she loses her concentration and dives poorly. Her friend Snow empathizes with her anger, and teaches her to take deep breaths and count to ten when she's angry to help her calm down, so that she doesn't do anything impulsive. But Penelope continues to react angrily to several provocations. Unfortunately, time out is used as a punishment rather than as a self-control technique, as she ends up in the "Chill Out" room, with the threat that if she loses her temper again, she won't be allowed to compete in tomorrow's diving contest. At the contest, Splashy again taunts Penelope about her diving skills. But this time Penelope remembers what to do. She breathes deeply, counts to ten, and performs a perfect dive. Splashy tries to provoke Penelope again, but Penelope is having none of it. She enjoys her successes at both diving and controlling her anger. An introduction for adults explains issues around anger control in children. Illustrated with black-and-white drawings. Children who struggle with anger will find empathy in Penelope's experiences, as well as a good role model for going from uncontrolled to controlled anger.
Ages: 5-10
Cultural Context: non-human
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Bear and Mrs. Duck by Elizabeth Winthrop
Illustrated by Patience Brewster. 32 p., Holiday House, 1988.
When Nora (who is about three or four years old) goes to the store, Mrs. Duck babysits Nora's Bear, who has a cold. Bear has a hard time letting Nora go, and at first refuses to play. Mrs. Duck understands that Bear misses Nora, Bear copes with her by drawing a picture of her. After this, he's able to enjoy playing with Mrs. Duck. In a happy reunion with Nora, Bear acknowledges his fun with Mrs. Duck while emphasizing his special love for Nora. This story shows children that they can love their parents, miss them, and cope with missing them by keeping an image of them close by; and can also enjoy a sitter.
Ages: 2-6
Cultural Context: European American
When Nora (who is about three or four years old) goes to the store, Mrs. Duck babysits Nora's Bear, who has a cold. Bear has a hard time letting Nora go, and at first refuses to play. Mrs. Duck understands that Bear misses Nora, Bear copes with her by drawing a picture of her. After this, he's able to enjoy playing with Mrs. Duck. In a happy reunion with Nora, Bear acknowledges his fun with Mrs. Duck while emphasizing his special love for Nora. This story shows children that they can love their parents, miss them, and cope with missing them by keeping an image of them close by; and can also enjoy a sitter.
Ages: 2-6
Cultural Context: European American
Sunday, January 3, 2010
We Can Get Along: A Child's Book of Choices by Lauren Murphy Payne
Illustrated by Claudia Rohling. 36 p., Free Spirit, 1997.
In this nonfiction book, the author describes what it feels like to get along with people, and how it feels when they don't get along. She suggests that children can use those feelings to make good choices in relationships; for example, maintaining self-control, listening, sharing, and problem-solving cooperatively. She comments that even though sometimes we may feel like hitting, it's never permissible to do that. She gives examples of positive ways to cope with having been hurt. The marker illustrations, which show children from a range of cultural backgrounds, have colorful, elaborate, child-friendly borders. A group leader's guide is available. This book offers children many accessible suggestions for specific behaviors that can help them make friends and can enhance their friendships.
Ages: 3-8
Cultural Context: multicultural
In this nonfiction book, the author describes what it feels like to get along with people, and how it feels when they don't get along. She suggests that children can use those feelings to make good choices in relationships; for example, maintaining self-control, listening, sharing, and problem-solving cooperatively. She comments that even though sometimes we may feel like hitting, it's never permissible to do that. She gives examples of positive ways to cope with having been hurt. The marker illustrations, which show children from a range of cultural backgrounds, have colorful, elaborate, child-friendly borders. A group leader's guide is available. This book offers children many accessible suggestions for specific behaviors that can help them make friends and can enhance their friendships.
Ages: 3-8
Cultural Context: multicultural