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 to 10 years
There’s quite a collection of pregnancy/new baby books on my shelves (favourites: this one and this one) and I’m forever on the lookout for others with a fresh and interesting approach.
This one, 9 Months, is great:
ages 2—8 years
There’s a scene in Emma (by Jane Austen), where Emma is talking to her friend (or plaything depending on your viewpoint) Harriet about a proposal. Emma says, ‘You must be the judge of your own happiness.’—and then proceeds to tell her how to judge her happiness!
Most of us are spared an Emma in our lives—we mostly judge our own happiness and find our own way. But sometimes we can be so secure in our current happiness that it becomes difficult to envision a different happiness.Children are prone to this too.
Read Moreages 0 to 8 years
Have you ever heard the patter of little feet in the night and found toys and books scattered around the house in the morning? It used to be an almost nightly routine at our place.
In this tender story Hannah wakes and, ‘surprised to find that it was still dark’, discovers that her family is soundly asleep.
She gently finds her way around, pouring milk for her cat, eating cherries without permission, and borrowing some of her sister’s precious possessions.
ages 3 to 8 years
Henrietta is a ‘great go-getter’ with an ‘adventurous spirit’ and ‘great determination’.
She’s also ‘an explorer of life, and that includes trees, bugs, animals and all mysteries.’ She’s waiting for a new baby—and hoping for a sister. She’s also starting school, making new friends, having her first sleepover and doing all the things that lucky children do at that age.
There are disappointments of course
Read Moreages 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 Moreages 2 to 8 years
In the story of The Lost Kitten, a little girl, Hina, and her mother are met by a mother cat who seems to ask them to care for her sickly kitten. Hina is hesitant, she was hoping for ‘a cute one from the pet shop’....
ages 2 to 10 years
Have you ever tried herding animals? Trying to get a group of them to go where you want is one of the most futile exercises in existence. At times, kids are no easier(!) and Our (last) Trip to the Market embodies this experience.
A conversation about books + kids. A website resource and book reviews for educators, parents, grandparents. The main focus is emotional resilience.
