Character
Book Reviews

An often overlooked aspect of the bullying situation is the bully's need to develop responsibility for improved behavior and the responsibility of adults and classmates. This engaging story is from the perspective of a child who saw a new classmate bullied. She took action by confiding in her parents and the teacher. The school counselor used puppets to help children develop understanding. The victim and two of the bullies began some new behaviors. If the book ended here, it might seem to be an oversimplification of a difficult problem. However at this point, the author opens the door for valuable discussions. The last four pages list items with these headings.
1. Ways Children Can Cope with Bullying
2. Ways Parents, Teachers, and other Adults Can Help Children Who Are Being Bullied
3. Ways to Help Bullies Change
4. Places to Call for Help or Advice
5. Web Sites to Visit for Helpful Advice
I highly recommend this for parents and school personnel to use with children. The author is a preschool service coordinator and behavioral consultant working with special needs children and their families providing emotional and social support.

Look before you leap. This bit of wisdom flows naturally from a pelican's adventures without any effort to be a little sermon. K - 3rd graders are fasinated by making friends with a gentle wild creature such as the pelican in this story. Written by educators, the story tells of realistic adventures "Pop" had with a pelican which enjoyed treats on his dock over several years. The illustrations help keep the reader involved. A bonus feature includes two pages of interesting facts about this type of pelican.

Teachers and parents enjoy using the questions at the end of the book to help with comprehension. The book also presents good opportunities for vocabulary development. The book meets classroom requirements for state standards in reading, writing, science, social studies, and math.

by Betsy B. Lee
All Ages including adult literacy
Even wild animals know "The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance." Children face a deluge of information. They must be taught to recognize truth from untruth. Especially for children, stories are compatible means of teaching important truths. We have gotten many familiar expressions from fables, e. g. the wolf in sheep's clothing; who will bell the cat; it is easy to suggest impossible solutions; he that is neither one thing nor the other has no friends; you can't please everyone; sour grapes rationalization; any excuse will serve a tyrant or a bully; work together for the common good; treat others the way you would like to be treated; don't make a mountain out of a mole hill; it can be better to share than to fight; one good turn deserves another. Let's remember that fables were originally aimed at adults. These fables have the advantage of being written in sight words making them more understandable for children.

See lesson plans with fables and worksheets.
See excerpts.

This is not a list of dos and don'ts. Instead, the editor shows the use of important values in stories by Hans Christian Anderson, Beatrix Potter, Mark Twain, Frances Hodgson Burnett, M. Montgomery, C. S. Lewis, Max Lucado, and Arnold Lobel, and others. For centuries, people have instilled character and good judgment in children by use of stories.

Personal benefits of kindness are seen in this book told from the horse's point of view. A visually impaired girl rescues a horse. The story shows how the horse and the girl are mutually blessed by each other's thoughtfulness. It concludes with these lines: "Moments like these were special times for both of us. I had many years of bliss on the farm with Amy. I know we gave each other that extra spark in life. Every day could be faced with bright anticipation. We were truly a lucky pair."

People who are cruel to animals are often cruel to other people and to children. Let's encourage kindness to animals and people with more stories such as Black Beauty.

It did not begin as a children's book. This classic was first published in 1877 as a statement against the cruel treatment of horses. To have greater impact, the author told the story from the horse's point of view. This book is very valuable to spur discussions of the values in it.

Also enjoy The Black Beauty Coloring Book.

Read suggestions for making time-out a helpful learning experience (a chance for the child to regroup inner resources and have positive character growth). Excerpts are at Amazon.

How do we handle disappointments? Life does tell all of us no. Many children, teens, and adults need help in learning to handle no. We are bombarded with images of Get anything you want and get it now. Dr. Walsh is one of many psychologists who is concerned about this. He is the founder and president of the nonprofit National Institute on Media and the Family.

He encourages a balanced parenting style which is not too negative nor permissive. Age-by-age chapters help readers deal with age appropriate use of no which helps children grow into self-disciplined, well-adjusted adults.

Dr. Walsh is the founder and president of the nonprofit National Institute on Media and the Family. Cyberhood is quite a challenging neighborhood. Would we let our children play alone in just any neighborhood? This book offers updated information about cyberhoods. The media is challenging parents' roles of being our children's first and most influential teachers. In some cases, it is winning the race.