BEING
YOUR BEST: CHILDREN’S BOOKS THAT PROMOTE TOLERANCE
The Hamilton-Wenham High School was full on a weekday evening in January when
author/psychologist Michael Thompson spoke about the research for his newest
book Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children.
This topic touches on concerns all parents share. We want our children to be
accepted by a group of friends, but we also want them to have the chance to
develop as unique individuals. Too often the peer pressure to belong to a group
translates into: ‘You are not like me, so we can’t get along.’ Sadly, you
need only look at the newspaper to see that the grown-up world isn’t much
different. Schools that have added programs on issues such as respect, bullying
and kindness to their already busy curriculums are to be commended. In that
spirit we offer this sampling of children’s books that promote living in
harmony. |
People
Who Made A Difference
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50 American Heroes
Every Kid Should Meet, Dennis Denenberg & Lorraine Roscoe. $12.95. A lively collection of short
biographical sketches, includes quotes, suggested research tips, and questions
to spark further exploration.
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Gandhi, Demi. $19.95. An exquisite and interesting
picture book biography that shows the evolution of ideals into actions.
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Martin’s Big Words, Doreen Rappaport. $15.99.
Written in a direct style suitable for reading aloud to primary grades, the
inclusion of quotes from speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. makes this a
powerful book for any age.
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Strength of
Character - More picture book biographies : Aunt Clara Brown:
Official Pioneer by L. Lowery. Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man Alive
by D. Adler. One Giant Leap: The Story Of Neil Armstrong by D. Brown.
Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became The World’s Fastest Woman by K.
Krull. Woody Guthrie: Poet Of The People by B. Christensen.
Being
True To Yourself
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Being Your Best: Character Building For Kids 7-10, Barbara Lewis.
$14.95. Quizzes, real-life situations, activities and food for thought in a
fun-to-browse format; covers cooperation, fairness, honesty, responsibility and
more.
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Eggbert, The Slightly
Cracked Egg, Tom Ross. $5.99. A message told with humor: don’t try to
blend in, be proud of your ‘cracks’!
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The Rag Coat, Lauren
Mills, $16.95. Minna stands up for herself when her classmates make fun of her
hand-me-downs. A short chapter book on a similar topic is The Girl With 500
Middle Names by M. Haddix.
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Rocks In His Head, James
Stevenson. $16.00. Pursue your passions, you never know what will come of them.
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Sunflower Sal, Janet
Anderson. $6.95. Sal finds her own special talent. |
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How To
Be A Friend
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The Borrowed Hanukah Latkes, Linda Glaser. $6.95. Being a friend means
going out of your way to be helpful. |
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How To Lose All Your Friends, Nancy Carlson. $5.99. Never share, be a
poor sport; kids will get the point of this fun spoof.
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I Like Your Buttons, Sarah Lamstein. $15.95. A random act of kindness
starts a chain reaction of goodwill. |
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I Miss Franklin P. Shuckles, Ulana Snihura. $5.95. How do you apologize
after excluding a friend? |
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Mr. Lincoln’s Way, Patricia Polacco. $16.99. A wise principal figures
out a way to befriend a bully. |
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My Friend John, Charlotte Zolotow. $6.99. Friendship is about supporting
each other. |
The Ins And Outs Of Friendship – More Stories: Annie And Bo And The
Big Surprise by E. Partridge. Ginger, C. Voake. How To Be A
Friend by L. & M. Brown. Iris And Walter: True Friends by E. Guest.
King Of The Playground by P. Naylor. Stop Picking On Me: A First Look
At Bullying by P. Thomas. Zelda And Ivy by L. Kvasnosky.
Getting To Know You
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Dear Juno, Soyung Pak.$5.99. Even though Juno can’t read Korean, he finds
a way to exchange letters with grandmother. |
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The Hundredth Name. Shulamith Oppenheim. $7.95. A Muslim boy is sure that
his prayers will help his camel. |
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The Name Jar. Yangsook Choi. $16.95. Unhei thinks she needs to pick a
more ‘American’ name. A similar short chapter book is My Name Is Maria Isabel
by Alma Ada. |
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A World Of Wonders, J. Patrick Lewis,16.99. Bring the wide world into
your life with these “geographic travels in verse”. |
Expanding Your Circle Of Friends – More Stories
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How My Parents Learned To Eat by I. Friedman.
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Margaret and Margarita
by L. Reiser.
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Sister Anne’s Hands by M. Lorbiecki.
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Whoever You Are
by M. Fox.
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