Brothers Forever: a sweet look at navigating transitions
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Brothers Forever is a sweet story about how life changes for two brothers as the older goes to school, told from the perspective of the younger brother.
Ages 2 - 8
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The Whirlpool: a book to scaffold language about emotions
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It can happen that, in the midst of crisis, children need explicit words to help them give structure to fears and thoughts and hopes. The Whirlpool is a book for those times.
I’ve seen the power of read-it-before-you-need-it books many times and, with that solid foundation, a book that gives words to feelings can be the next piece in the puzzle that is emotional resilience.
In The Whirlpool, we see ourselves in the everyday life of a sweet polar bear who is full of confidence and brimming with happiness while he is '… a mastermind. A storyteller. A traveller and adventurer.”
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The Darkest Dark: in overcoming fears we become free to reach dreams about who we want to be
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ages 4 to 10 years
Chris Hadfield (astronaut, musician, author, celebrity crush for stem-loving women around the world) has said: "Every single thing that you learn really just gives you more comfort.”
He was talking about taking the opportunity to learn any skill, any idea, at any time—embracing the notion that knowledge is power and that with knowledge comes freedom. And one of the freedoms most everyone seeks for their children is freedom from fear, real or imagined. The Darkest Dark is about just that: overcoming fear. It's also a love story, a promise, an inspiration.
It's the story of a boy, his love for space, and how that love overcomes his deepest fear: fear of the dark.
Read Morea tender hearted look at dementia and the beauty of a life lived with simple pleasures
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ages 4 to 12 years
Angela—who gets up before daybreak—waits for a special visitor. As she waits she bakes shortbread cookies, the ‘lovely sweet smell’ reminding her of her childhood. ‘That’s why she makes them so often.’
She becomes anxious as she waits and, with ‘her heart lurching in all directions’, she tries playing along to a quiz game on television. ‘That’s when she hears a small voice behind her
Read Morea heart tugging look at how it feels to be different and a call to be more accomodating
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ages 6 years to grownup
Everyone knows what it is to feel different or misunderstood. It's part of modern life—we meet many people in many circumstances and we don’t always ‘click’. And that’s fine, mostly we just do what needs to be done and move on until we come to a place we really do fit. But, for some people, being different or misunderstood is a constant. Ivan is such a child and he tells us that he is, in fact, a crocodile:
“I look like a boy but, inside, I am a crocodile. It’s not something you can see, of course, because it’s inside.
Read Morethe life-changing value of speaking up—for yourself or for someone else
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ages 2 to 8 years
When I read this book to four-year-old Ivy, she sat in silence, then, at the last page, said, “Let’s read that again.”
Twig is that sort of book—beautiful to look at, with a story that's relatable and full of interesting ideas to process.
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