For the Child - Reading List

Book List that make life safer and happier for children.

3 Books by Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrated by Laura Cornell. These are fun, gorgeous books that never underestimate a child’s creativity or capacity for emotional growth. My favorites are:

When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her Youth. Captures what it means to grow up and be “bigger” as a child looks back on her infancy and toddler-hood from the lofty perspective of four and a half-years. Fun in itself, but also great for preparing when new baby is on the way.
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born. “Tell me again about the night I was born… Tell me again how you would adopt me and be my parents. Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms….” A cherished tale about adoption that tells the story of how a child and family are born.
Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day. Silly, grumpy, angry, joyful, or excited, everyone has feelings they need to understand and manage. A book with pizaaz that helps children identify feelings and changing moods. Includes a mood wheel face.

Mama, Do You Love Me? Barbara M. Joose with lovely illustrations by Barbara Lavallee. “ Mama, do you love me? Yes I do, Dear One. How much?” Introduces young children to Alaska, Inuit Indians, whales, wolves, puffins and sled dogs. A story of a child testing the limits of independence, and a mother who proves that a parent’s love is unconditional and everlasting, a universal bond that transcends time, place and culture.

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. A baby fruit bat is separated from her mother before she is old enough to fly. In this gentle, touching and humours tale, Stellaluna learns about adapting to the habits of her adoptive family, friendship, survival and openness to help from creatures different from herself. American Booksellers Book of the Year in 1994. Still a treasure.

My Family’s Changing by Pat Thomas

Dinosaur’s Divorce by Laurene Krasny Brown & Marc Brown
These are books that help children cope with their fears, worries and questions about divorce in simple and reassuring terms.

Children Also Grieve: Talking About Death & Healing by Linda Goldman. A touching and emotionally healing book for bereaved children and the family members who care for them. A family copes with the death of a Grandparent from the perspective of Henry, the family dog. Designed to help children identify and share their own feelings about loss.

Something happened to me by Phyllis Sweet. This simple book has been around for more than 25 years, but is still one of the best for helping children who have been robbed of childhood innocence by sexual abuse.