WTBA is a collection of and conversation about powerful books that strengthen, elevate, inspire and help to grow powerful, resilient kids. We're a book oriented guide for parents, grandparents, educators, aunts, uncles and anyone involved in nurturing children and caring for friends.
Ages 2 - 6
Peggy is a really appealing book to read with someone who is mad for chickens, or worried about new experiences, maybe a homebody—they’ll relate to Peggy’s yearning for home, someone who is a bit too busy to notice the joy and fun in life, or deeply attached to a routine - or keen to try new things!
Read MoreMadame Walker was born Sarah Breedlove, the youngest child in her family and the first person in her family to be born free. Her family were slaves in Louisiana until emancipation in 1865.
Sarah was born in 1867 and lived an extraordinary life.
During her at once difficult and blessed life, Sarah married twice, had a daughter, and built a cosmetics empire.
Read Moreages 2 years to adult
In The Power and The Glory, Graham Greene wrote: “Hate is a lack of imagination.” Perhaps it follows that love is an abundance of imagination. There’s plenty of both to go around in the world just now, so I suppose the thing to do is notice imagination, encourage it, and let it build.
Sometimes we think of imagination as the stuff of fantasy worlds—The Lord of The Rings scaled down to everyday life, if you like. And that’s a wonderful way to imagine. But John Lennon’s Imagine reminds us that there’s more to imagination.
Read MoreFor the last 21 years—between 27 May when the Say Yes referendum was held, and 3 June when the Mabo Land Rights Case was decided—Australia has held a National Reconciliation Week.
The events of NRW can be a great starting point for conversations about race and reconciliation, and to continue that important work, here are 12 picture books that speak to indigenous life in Australia. These 8 are on my bookshelf now:
Read Moreages 6 to grownup
It seems almost dystopian that there was a time when Aboriginal people were not counted in the population statistics. And when the laws and powers that were held by each State government resulted in segregation and broad discrimination...
ages 12 years and up
Hotaka is the tale of the town of Omori-wan, one of the Japanese villages devastated by the 2011 Tsunami and the people who are trying to learn to live after everything is swept away—it's told through the eyes of a young boy, Hotaka....
ages 4 to 12 years
An asylum seeker is someone who is seeking protection as a refugee but hasn’t yet been granted recognised refugee status. So in this story, Ziba and her mother—who have left their own country after war and oppression came to their village—are both asylum seekers and refugees. They're traveling by boat to a new country where they hope to find ‘azadi’—freedom
A conversation about books + kids. A website resource and book reviews for educators, parents, grandparents. The main focus is emotional resilience.
