Running head: ANNOTATED CHILDRENS BIBLIOTHERAPY BOOK LIST 1

Annotated Childrens Bibliotherapy Book List

Cassie Meadows
Ivy Tech Community College







Annotated Childrens Bibliotherapy Book List 2

Hazen, Barbara. (1979). Tight Times. New York: Puffin Books.
Age: Kindergarten-1st Grade
Tight Times, by Barbara Hazen, is about a young boy whose family is going through a difficult financial
time. The story starts out with the boy wanting to get a dog, but is told no because his family is
going thought what his parents call tight times. Later in the story, the boy is sent outside
while his parents discuss something. It is revealed that is father has lost his job. While he is
outside, he finds a kitten in the trash. When he brings it inside, he pours the kitten a bowl of
milk. While pouring, he spills the milk and things get tense. The story wraps up when the family
is brought together for a family hug together at the puddle on the kitchen floor. The pictures fit
the story well, illustrating the familys tight situation well. One picture even shows the mother
sewing a shirt button back on, instead of buying a new one.
Bunting, Eve. (1997). A Days Work. New York: Clarion Books.
Age: 5 to 8-years-old
A Days Work, by Eve Bunting, is about a young boy, Francisco, trying to find his grandfather, who goes
by simply Abuelo in the book, a job. Abuelo has just arrived from Mexico and speaks no English,
so Francisco translates a conversation between his grandfather and a man named Ben. During
the course of the conversation, Francisco lies to Ben by telling him that his grandfather has
experience as a gardener when in he is actually a carpenter. When Ben returns, he finds that
the garden only contains weeds now, and all the flowers have been pulled. Once Abuelo
discovers that Francisco has lied and the job was done incorrectly, he refuses the money & then
insists that they fix the problem. Ben sees the good in Abuelo and says they will receive more
work from him. Abuelo teaches Francisco about telling the truth and also about the value of an
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honest days work. The story also emphasizes that it is important to make ends meet the
honest way, even if it is the more difficult path.
Cooper, Melrose. (1998). Gettin Through Thursday. New York: Lee & Low Books.
Age: 5 to 8-years-old
Gettin Through Thursday, by Melrose Cooper, is focused on a young boy named Andre. Andres family
is not well off, in fact, they live from paycheck to paycheck. Because of this, they are often out
of money by Thursday which makes Andre hate Thursdays. In the story, Andre is excited
because he is going to make the honor roll & his mother has promised him a party as reward for
this accomplishment. Soon he realizes that the day report cards come home will be a Thursday,
which he thinks will mean no party for him. While Andre throws a fit about the lack of party, his
single mother & two siblings come up with a solution, an imaginary party. The night turns out to
be great for Andre and that night is followed by a party on Friday. So even though the family
could celebrate Andres accomplishments the way he wanted right away, they still found a way
to make it special for him.
DiSalvo-Ryan, Dyanne. (1997). Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen. New York: HarperCollins.
Age: 1st-3rd grade
Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen, by Dyanne DiSalvo-Ryan starts out with a little boy being picked up
from school by his Uncle Willie. As the boy walks with Uncle Willie, he begins to take an interest
in the homeless people who live on the streets. His Uncle Willie works at a soup kitchen and he
helps the boy to learn about hunger and homelessness when he takes him to the soup kitchen.
The boy gets to work with other volunteers, preparing and serving food while also learning
about the things that go on every day at the soup kitchen. This book does a good job of giving
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different points of view, for example, the views of those doing the helping and also those being
helped.
Fenner, Carol. (2002). The King of Dragons. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Age: 9 to 12-years-old
The King of Dragons, by Margaret K. McElderry is about an eleven-year-old boy, Ian, and his father, a
war veteran, who are homeless and have been since Ian was eight. Most recently, they were
staying in the Hall of Justice in Chicago, because it is a historic monument which means it is
kept heated. The main conflict in the story starts when Ians dad does not return one day. After
weeks without his father, Ian adjusts using the survival skills his dad has taught him the past
few years. He abides by the rules he has learned, but soon his problems build. People begin
occupying the building because of a recovery project for the building where kites are being set
up for an exhibit. Ian does his best to blend in when he gets caught off guard, and succeeds by
taking an interest in the kites. He even begins to guide tours of exhibit and pretends to be a
child of the project volunteers. All this time that Ian tries to live his day-to-day life, it wears on
him on the inside. Ian begins to make friends and eventually has to decide if his secret is worth
his new life or if it is time to give up the charade.
Gunning, Monica. (2004). A Shelter in Our Car. New York: Childrens Book Press.
Age: 4 to 8-years-old
A Shelter in Our Car, by Monica Gunning, is about a little girl named Zettie and her mother have no
choice but to live in their car. In search of a better life, mother and daughter family just moved
to the United States from their more comfortable Jamaica home after the father died. Her
mother cannot find a good job and they have nothing really except for their car and each other.
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They are homeless and she deals with so much in her day-to-day life; for example, being
bullied, being hungry and having to scavenge for food, taking showers in cold park bathrooms,
and trying to sleep in a cramped car. The mother is very loving, supportive and caring which
gives determined Zettie more confidence in the idea that they can stay together and overcome
their situation. The story wraps up on a positive note with the mother helping at a health fair
which, in turn, brings her a new job. The family gets to move in to a hotel, have a real shower
and sleep in a warm bed.
Boelts, Maribeth. (2009). Those Shoes. New York: Candlewick
Age: 5 to 9-years-old
Those Shoes, by Maribeth Boelts, is the story of a boy named Jeremy who learns an important lesson
about what is really important and what is not. The book starts out with Jeremy wanting a pair
of shoes like all of the other children at school are wearing, but his grandma tells him that what
he really needs is not those shoes and they are too expensive. She explains that what he
needs is a new pair of boots for winter. The story goes on and Jeremys shoes eventually fall
apart at school and he gets a pair of shoes that is too childish from the school counselor. Later
he goes to the thrift store and finds the pair of shoes he has been wanting, but they are too
small. He buys them anyways, and then his feet end up hurting and he realizes that after all
that, those shoes are not really what he needs. He sees that he has a loving grandmother and a
few good friends who stand by him. He ends up giving the shoes he yearned for away and
sticking with his boots.
OConnor, Barbara. (2007). How to Steal a Dog. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Age: 8 to 12-year-olds
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How to Steal a Dog, by Barbara OConnor is about a little girl named Georgina and her family. Her
family has been living in their car because her father left and they were evicted from their
apartment. Her mother is trying her best, working two jobs to earn rent money and attempting
to not lose all of their stuff. Georgina wants to help, so she decides to steal a dog, thinking that
the reward money will help them out. The girl plans it all out in her diary, but the whole ordeal
does not go according to plan because the older woman cannot afford to offer a reward. The
girl is constantly embarrassed and struggles with her conscious about what the right thing to do
may be. Georgina eventually figures out that the woman is just as bad off as her own family and
decides to return the dog.
Estes, Eleanor. (1944). The Hundred Dresses. New York: Harcourt.
Age: 6 to 10-years-old
The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes, is the story of Wanda Petronski, a little Polish girl who lives in
Connecticut. Wanda is tormented by her classmates because she wears the same old worn
dress to school every day. One day, Wanda tells them that she has one hundred dresses at
home, but the children at school misunderstand her and instead they tease her horribly. The
bullying gets so terrible for Wanda that her father believes that it is a good idea for them to
move. Before Wanda left school though, she had actually participated in a contest. The teacher
had held a contest for the girls to enter. The girls were to enter their best drawing of dresses
that they had personally designed. When the contest was over, it was revealed to the class that
Wanda had entered one hundred beautiful designs and she had won the contest without much
close competition. When the class, especially Maddie, finds out that Wanda had changed
schools they feel guilty and they decide that they will never sit by and watch something like this
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happen again. They decide to send Wanda a letter with an apology, hoping that the postman
can forward it to her.
Bunting, Eve. (1993). Fly Away Home. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Ages: 5 to 8-years-old
Fly Away Home is the story of a boy, named Andrew and his father who are homeless. They stay in the
airport and try not to get noticed by the staff there. In the book, the boy describes their routine
and the trends of the airport. The boy talks about what their lifestyle is like and what it is like to
live in an airport. The book also talks about how the mother died & that they used to have an
apartment. The boy talks about saving money and discusses his father trying to get an
apartment. The boy expresses jealously about others having homes and his situation. The story
wraps up on a lighter note, with a small story about a bird stuck in the airport & how when it
was ready, after a little bit of time, it flew free and out of the airport. He uses the phrase, Go
little bird, fly away home and talks about being hopeful that he and his father will find a home.