Janna Price
English 3950
The theme to my reading ladder is death in the family. All of our students are going though all kinds of different problems at home that sometimes as teachers we will never know or understand. Death is an event that we can not escape and for some it comes too soon. Everyone copes with death in their own way, but students need some kind of outlet and resource to talk to or learn from. All of these book have to do with loss of someone special whether it is a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or friend.
The book âGentle Willowâ (Joyce C. Mills) is a good picture book for children that are dealing with loss of a loved one. It is about this little girl that is loosing her tree and she is very upset about loosing her friend. As the book goes on she learns that she has amazing memories of her and her friend that are gifts that she can take wherever and pull out when she is sad. A very moving story that really teaches kids that memories are very important.
The book âAre you sad, Little Bearâ(Rachael Rivett), is a good picture book for children that have lost someone dear to them. It has pictures to explain things and heartwarming saying to help a child though this rough time. This book also has soft, cuddly bears, something southing for a young child to read about.
The book âMissing Mommyâ (Rebecca Cabb) is a good picture book for children because it is a sad but true book. It is about a little girl that has lost her mommy and is going though a very rough patch. This targets children with a specific loss but I think it is a very powerful book that is very sad but worth the read.
The book âButterflies from Heavenâ (Jenifer Minette) is a good picture book for children because it sends a positive note about people that have passed away from our lives. This book helps children see what a beautiful gifts that we can get from people passing away. There is always something to look for from the other side and it helps put a positive outlook (as much of a positive outlook you can get from someone passing away) from all the loss that a child has.
The book âGreif Girlâ (Erin Vincent) is a good teen novel because it is a fast interesting read that keeps you wanting to read more. It is about a girl whoâs parents suddenly die in a car crash. Now she must raise herself, her younger sister, and her younger brother. It is a good insight to what happens to a child when their parents pass away. But raising a family at an extremely young age does not always occur because the parents passed away, it could be because the parents are working more then one job and can not be home to raise the children. This is very important to remember and this book shows a bit of what she has to do to raise the family at such a young age.
The book âThe Girl Death Left Behindâ (Lurlene McDaniel) is a good teen novel because it is about something that can happen to anybody and it helps explain what some teens may be going though with loosing family members. Bethâs family has been in a terrible accident and she is the only one that survived the whole crash. This book helps explain how Beth is feeling, how she deals with the guilt, and how she going on with her life. She would not be able to do it without the love of her aunt and some friends. This book gives good insight to our students that have gone though a great tragedy and some that may have survivorâs guilt.
The book âBridge to Terabithiaâ (Katherine Paterson) is a good teen novel because it is about kids that become so close, so fast. They are best friends that come up with this imaginary land called Terabithia. Things were all amazing until one day when Leslie decides to go to Terabithia without Jess and unfortunately passes away. He book then goes though how Jess grieves and get though the following months. This is good for children to read because it shows how you can use the strength of your friends to get through a hard time.
The book âEverything I Never Told Youâ (Celeste Ng) is a great nonfiction novel because it is about a real family living in a small town in Ohio in the 1970s. The family in this book is the Lee family that has three children and the middle child, Lydia has a very bright future. She has the âAmerican dreamâ future according to her parents, until one day when she is found dead. When Lydia passes away it sends her family into a horrible state. The family gets ripped apart by grief and the unknown. This book ties in the meaning of family, history of the 1970s, and the cost of the truth.
The graphic novel âSpider-Man: Revenge of The Sinister Sixâ (Adam-Troy Castro) is a great graphic novel for students to read because it is about Peter Parker being Spider-Man and how he deals with the sudden loss of his Uncle Ben. The graphic novel goes through why the death of his uncle shapes who he is as Spider-Man. The death of his uncle and many other factors have made him into Spider-Man but this helps explain to students healthy ways of grieving for loved ones.
Janna Price
Letter to Teachers
Dear Teacher,
I have created a reading ladder based on the book âMonster Callsâ. I have done this for so many important reasons, but the main reasons is to help students understand death and how they can get though the loss of a loved one. The main theme though my reading ladder is loss in the family. To different students the word family can mean different things, it can mean mother, father, sister, brother, or even pets, and best friend. All these books deal with the death of a family member or loved one.
Each book was also selected for different reasons, the levels progress so that all different levels of readers can understand the challenges of death of a loved one. The picture books are simple explanations using friendly characters and simple vocabulary. The book Gentle Willow was chosen because it is about loss of a friend and how to use memories to help along the journey. The book Are you sad, Little Bear was chosen because it has appealing, cozy characters to help explain the loss of a loved one. The book Missing Mommy was chosen the especially help those children without a mother. The book Butterflies from Heaven was chosen because it helps put somewhat of a positive note about death in the family.
As you get into the more difficult books the titles get more literal. The book Greif Girl was chosen because it is about a young girl that must raise her family from a very young age because her parents passed away in a car crash. A lot of students are doing this not just because of a parentsâ death but also because parents are not able to be home because they are working. The book The Girl Death Left Behind was chosen because it talks about a girl and how she deals with survivorâs guilt. This is a very important thing to understand as you get older. The book Bridge to Terabithia was chosen because it is a classic great novel but also because it deals with the death of a best friend. The book Everything I Never Told You was chosen because it is a real story that has many twists and turns and has a big chunk of history tied into the death of Lydia Lee and how her family gets ripped apart because of her death. The book Spider-Man: Revenge of The Sinister Six was chosen because it talks about how Spider-Man is the man he is because of the sudden death of his Uncle. This book is a great example of how to deal with death in a healthy way.
All these books are amazing books that will help students from Kindergarten to Eighth grade talk about and deal with death to a family member/loved one.
Sincerely,
Janna Price