Healing Stories

October 1, 2006
Golding (psychology, Univ. of California, San Francisco) is a psychologist in private practice who works with children. Here she writes about sharing picture books with children as a means of acknowledging their feelings, helping them to process their experiences, and promoting empathy, hope, and self-understanding. The author selected more than 500 picture books that, in her opinion, have positive value for promoting childrens development and teaching them coping strategies. The chapters are broken down into nine basic categories of childhood issues. Each chapter has an introduction followed by an AZ listing of picture books on the chapters topic. The 34 topics covered in the book are a good representation of issues; however, injuries/accidents and special needs are not addressed. Listings include publishing information, a description, a suggested age range, the main characters cultural background, and cultural context. Golding recommends that adults first review the lists and read the books they feel are most appropriate before choosing one for their child. "Healing Stories" empowers parents to promote development and healing in children through books in a fun, helpful manner. The quality of her selections is excellent. Recommended for public libraries."Kari Ramstrom, Hennepin Cty. P.L., MN"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2007
Believing in the power of stories to help children understand themselves, Golding has compiled an annotated list of more than 500 picture books on topics ranging from simple friendship to more complex themes of illness and divorce. In her introduction, she gives practical tips for adults who will be choosing books from this collection. The author reminds them that books alone can't solve all problems, but that they are excellent tools for starting a conversation. Carolyn W. Lima and John A. Lima's "A to Zoo" (2005) groups titles by similar topic without the benefit of annotations, whereas John T. Gillespie and Catherine Barr's "Best Books for Children" (2003, both Libraries Unlimited) provides a one-sentence annotation with evaluative comments for using the titles as discussion starters with children. Both parents and librarians can use these suggested books either for bibliotherapy or for theme-building for storytimes. However, because Golding suggests many older, out-of-print titles, this book would not be as worthwhile as a collection-development guide."Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.