Children’s literature is an incredibly powerful tool. It is a great way to bond and spend time with your children. It can also be a wonderful way to teach morals or lessons to your children. Children’s literature is a way for children to see the world in a different way, learn about others around them, and work through big emotions. The five books that I discuss below are ones that I read often with my 5 year old foster daughter and we used them to have big conversations.
1. “The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes” By Mark Pett & Gary Rubinstein
The book “The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes” By Mark Pett & Gary Rubenstein is a tale of a young girl. This young girl has never made a mistake in her life. However, she spends most of the book being anxious that she is going to make a mistake. This prevents her from even trying at all. My foster daughter and I had a great conversation about how important it is to make mistakes. If we don’t make mistakes we can’t learn. For example, we can’t learn how to ride a bike, if at first we don’t fall. The key here is that we shouldn’t hold ourselves back from fear of making mistakes. We are all going to make mistakes. The important thing is that we learn from them. And apologize and take action if those mistakes hurt others.
2. “Just Ask!” By Sonia Sotomayor
The book, “Just Ask!” by Sonia Sotomayor is a story that features many characters. This is a story that highlights the many differences that we all have as humans. The book showcases different disabilities and diseases that children may experience and explains what they are. Instead of staying away from someone because they have a condition that makes them different, you can ask them about it and find ways to include them in what you are doing. This book was an excellent way for my foster daughter and I to talk about what these conditions are. Not only that we were able to talk about the health condition that she has. It really helped her to not feel so alone as a child who had a health condition that people may not understand. She also loved learning more about other conditions that children she may meet could have.
3. “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” By Judith Viorst
The book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” By Judith Viorst is a tale that follows a young boy throughout a day that he considers to be just awful. You learn throughout the story about what is going wrong for the little boy. You also see how those moments in his day make him feel. In the end, he learns that bad days happen and that everyone has them. My foster daughter and I had a really unique conversation with this book. Throughout the story she kept saying, “but at least he has…” or “that isn’t really terrible”. And it is because she has experienced things that are considerably worse than what happened in the story. We got to talk about finding things to be thankful for in the midst of chaos. But we also talked about how even if people have experienced something worse, it doesn’t mean that the little boy in the story can’t be disappointed. It is all perspective. For the character, this is the worst thing that they have experienced. It is important to remember that everyone is going through something and those feelings matter.
4. “All Because You Matter” By Tami Charles
The book, “All Because You Matter” By Tami Charles is a powerful story of hope. It shares important messages about how you were cared about before you were even born and that you matter. It reminds us of how black men have been needlessly killed for the color of their skin and how it makes young black boys question if they matter. You, me, and we all matter and have a greater purpose here on Earth. My foster daughter proclaimed after we read this book that she didn’t matter and didn’t have a purpose here. We used this time to talk about how she is (insert name) and that she is a pretty amazing person who definitely matters. We then talked about what she likes to do and what she wants to be. I made sure that she knew that she was somebody of importance and her life has value, exactly as she is.
5. “Benjamin Nathan’s Shoes” By Amber Sheffield & Cindy Housley
This book, “Benjamin Nathan’s Shoes” was cowritten by myself and one of my friends, Cindy Housley. This book is the journey of 5 pairs of shoes that are owned by a little boy. These shoes all have problems and big feelings that they need to talk about. They go to see a therapist for shoes where they learn that all of their feelings are important and deserve to be shared. This story was a great bonding story for my foster daughter and I. She was very proud to know that I wrote it and she took my copy with her because it has my picture on the back. It was a great book for us to talk about going to therapy. We actually went to therapy for her to work through lots of big feelings and trauma. This book was a great way for us to discuss what therapy is and how no matter what she shares there, none of the feelings are silly, they deserve to be shared.
In Summary
I have just shared some of the children’s literature that I read frequently with my foster daughter. These five books were so powerful for the two of us and our relationship. Books can be a great conversation starter, for all kids, but especially for those who have experienced trauma or adversity of some kind. Stories in children’s therapy works wonders. Comment below with some of your favorite pieces of children’s literature and if you would like to learn more about ways to use these books in a different way with your child.
