Picture books are a wonderful resource to explain or begin discussions about difficult subjects. Last week’s post was about the personal experience my family had with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) that lead to the book, Mr. Worry: A story about OCD. In writing, Mr. Worry, I hoped it would be a resource for families and schools. It is rewarding when I hear from a family and they tell me that upon reading the book, their child was relieved to know they were not the only one or that they read the book to a classroom and their child’s peers are now more understanding.
I hear similar stories about I Can’t Stop: A story about Tourette Syndrome. Tourette syndrome is another disorder that is not well understood and often, poorly portrayed in the media. Children with Tourette Syndrome are not intentionally making sounds or movements. When I talk with students about Tourette’s, I ask them if they’ve ever had a mosquito bite. Of course, all the hands go up! Mosquito bites itch. I ask them what happens when they try NOT to scratch it? That’s right, eventually you have to scratch it. That is Tourette’s. Just because a child doesn’t always have tics, doesn’t mean they are doing them intentionally. They have to do them.
I received an email from a gentleman that had Tourette Syndrome, but was not diagnosed until, as an adult, he read my picture book. He recognized himself in it and sought a diagnosis. He wonders how his life might have been if he’d had the help as a child.
At times children are frustrating to parents and teachers, but sometimes we need to step back, remove the emotions and look objectively for what might be the cause of their behavior. They deserve this because we are the adults and they were entrusted to our care.
Build a library of books that can be used to start discussion and build empathy for others. You’ll find many publisher’s lists include wonderful picture books about issues children may deal with. Here’s a link to the line of books at Albert Whitman-Issues .
When I visit schools, students
Synopsis: In pencil school, Ms. 2 tells her students to write a story. They are excited and some want to write about what they know (the basketball writes about sports). Little Red wants to write about bravery because red is the color of courage. She decides a brave pencil would journey through the school, fight evil, and save the day. Little Red travels down the story path with a basket of red nouns looking for the kind of tale that will allow her to display bravery and fight evil. As she journeys around the school, she encounters action words at the gym, descriptive words at the library, etc., until she comes across a long tangly tail that is up to no good. Brave Little Red follows it into Principal Granny’s office where she comes upon the Wolf 3000, “the grumpiest, growliest, grindingest pencil sharpener ever made. She arrives just in time to foil the electrical teeth of the Wolf 3000 pencil sharpener before rescuing the shorter-than-before principal and returning to class to tell her tale.
Synopsis: Picture books use words AND pictures to tell the story. This book explores both aspects. In What Do Authors Do? Christelow shows how an idea blossoms into a final book in colorful watercolors and comic book-style frames. In What Do Illustrators Do?, two artists create their own versions of Jack and the Beanstalk, from rough sketch to finished artwork.
Synopsis: Henrietta chicken reads and get books from the library. She says reading is so much fun writing must be eggshilarating. Other hens help her as she follows the Rules, with hilarious suggestions and some built-in definitions. When it’s done she submits and it’s rejected so she makes the book herself and takes it to the librarian. The librarian suggests she get it reviewed, but a bad review from the Corn Book hurts her feelings. She is embarrassed to go to the library, but the children love her book and they know it by heart! Funny!
Synopsis: Ralph has a teacher that says stories are everywhere. Ralph’s classmates seem to find them, but each day at writing time, Ralph cannot write one. So he procrastinates! What writer hasn’t? He tells a friend that nothing happens to him, but she says she’s written lots of stories about him. She shows him. So he looks some more for stories. He closes his eyes and imagines…an inchworm at the park. But when he tries to write about it, he can’t. When Ralph has to share his story, he starts to tell about the inchworm and students ask him questions and suddenly he does have a story. Now he writes stories all the time!
Synopsis: Rocket (a dog) loves to read or be read to by his teacher, the little yellow bird. Rocket loves words too. He sniffs them out with his nose. When he finds words he writes them down and hangs them on a word tree. Once the tree is covered with words Rocket decides to write a story. But when he tries, no story comes. His teacher suggests writing about something he’s seen, or that happened to him or that inspires him. So he sniffs for inspiration and makes friends with an owl. He works on his story about the owl for days, editing, drawing pictures, thinking. Slowly the owl, who was at first afraid, comes closer as Rocket reads her parts of his story and they finish it together.
Making Magic with Words 