Inspirational and healing books

Healing Stories
Picture Books for the Big & Small Changes in a Child’s Life
By Jacqueline Golding

“Mommy, I’m scared.” Hearing these words can be as fear-inducing for the parent as the situation is for the child. Young children have not yet acquired the social and emotional skills to manage trauma, fear, or change within their structural routine. Going through an array of firsts as they grow and adjust to life can also be extremely trying on a child, and the parents for that matter. Knowing what to do and say when a child is going through a difficult situation does not necessarily become instinctual once someone has a child. For generations, picture books have been effective parenting tools to ensure children are presented a situation in a manner they can understand. The bonding and communication that can transpire from reading a book to a child is endless. Now, there is a resource parents can turn to for help while guiding their children through these trying times.

With over 500 handpicked titles, HEALING STORIES: PICTURE BOOKS FOR THE BIG & SMALL CHANGES IN A CHILD’S LIFE recommends carefully selected books essential for any adult looking to help children cope with their growing pains through reading. Annotated with helpful commentary, these titles cover everything from kids’ everyday trials (losing baby teeth, starting school, having a bad day) to more emotionally stressful events (death of a pet, moving, illness), giving adults all the information they need to choose the right books. The influential resource also features useful tips to make reading fun and helpful for both adults and children!

For each of the thirty-four topics addressed within HEALING STORIES, only those that are beneficial to children’s development have been included. Books that seemed unhelpful, relied too heavily on cultural stereotypes, or presented a negative view of girls, women, or gender relations were passed over. It also includes books that are out of print to accommodate the growing secondary market and excludes overtly religious books to prevent discomfort related to conflicting beliefs.

To ensure ease in finding the appropriate picture book, entries are alphabetized within the chapters; and include title, author, illustrator (if applicable), length, publisher and year of publication, description, suggested age range, and main character’s cultural background and cultural context to help broaden a child’s cultural exposure to widen cultural horizons. Jacqueline Golding has created a must have resource for parents of young children.

Picture books featured in Healing Stories include:
Books for everyday growing [about security in relationship, resilience, imagination, emotional awareness, or friendship, respectively]:
“More, More, More,” Said the Baby
I Like Me
Cherries and Cherry Pits
How Are You Peeling? Foods With Moods
I Like the Way You Are
Books about crisis [parents’ divorce, hospitalization, death of pets or people, war and violence]:
Dinosaurs Divorce
Franklin Goes to the Hospital
Goodbye, Max
A Story for Hippo
Feathers and Fools
Jacqueline Golding, Ph.D. is a psychologist who works with children in private practice. She is an adjunct professor at the University of California, San Francisco and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She lives in San Francisco, California.
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HEALING STORIES
PICTURE BOOKS FOR THE BIG AND SMALL CHANGES IN A CHILD’S LIFE
By Jacqueline Golding
September 2006 * ISBN 1-59077-097-8* 336 pgs * $17.95 paper
M. Evans & Company ~ Distributed by National Book Network ~ 800.462.6420

(Source: Healing Stories)