Parenting Tips -Reading List

DUBLIN CITY LIBRARIES

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Books have a power to inspire, inform and reassure young people, to explain the world to them and explore difficult issues in a safe environment. Themes such as bullying or divorce, when described in the comforting pages of a good book, can make a real-life situation easier to cope with. In addressing such issues many authors, such as Jacqueline Wilson, show that feelings of loneliness and despondency are not unique and problems are definitely not insurmountable. Very often, while the theme may be serious, the writing is full of humour, and the appeal of engaging characters and strong storylines make these books, first and foremost, immensely enjoyable.

This is just a small selection of books available in Dublin City Libraries. There are many more titles in the children’s and young adult sections of the branch libraries. The library online catalogue can be searched by keyword. To locate children’s books, use the keyword JUVENILE and the subject term. Eg. BULLYING JUVENILE.

Booklists are also very helpful in choosing books; the series Books to Enjoy by Wendy Cooling and Children’s Books About Bullying by Rosemary Stones are among the titles available - ask the library staff in the children’s library.

Bullying
Under 12 years

4u2read.ok Who's a Big Bully Then?
by Michael Morpurgo
Illustrated by Joanna Carey
New ed, Barrington Stoke, Pbk., £4.99, ISBN 1-84299-154-X
8 –10 years

How would you feel if you beat the school bully in a race? And he then wanted a fight? How would you cope? This text tells you what happens to Darren Bishop as he stands up to the school bully.

Marvin Redpost : Why Pick on Me?
by Louis Sachar
Illustrated by Sue Hellard
Bloomsbury, ISBN Pbk., £4.99, ISBN 0-7475-6282-2
6 – 8 years

Everyone is laughing at Marvin Redpost. Why? He picks his nose, at least that's what Clarence says and no one argues with Clarence - not even Marvin's so-called friends. So what can Marvin do to turn things around?

Bullying
12 years +

Inventing Elliot
by Graham Gardner
Orion Children's, Pbk., £4.99, ISBN 1-84255-208-2
12 years +

After being bullied mercilessly, Elliot is determined to reinvent himself when he moves house with Mum and Dad and goes to a new school. He is going to be so cool that no one will touch him. He's going to stand out just enough not to get noticed. But he is too successful, and he does get noticed by the Guardians. They are a mysterious group of three who manipulate others and run the school with a reign of terror. They invite Elliot to become one of them. He faces an agonising decision, whether to use this new found power or risk standing up for himself and facing the consequences.

Feather Boy
by Nicky Singer
Collins, Pbk., £5.99, ISBN 0-00-712026-5
12 years +

Robert Nobel, the school pariah, triumphs over his own fears and the school bully, in this extraordinary tale of self-empowerment, legend and death. Robert is a boy who can do anything -- or so old Edith Sorrel at the nursing home tells him. Robert doesn't think so, knowing that he is the school geek. But something compels him to do what Edith asks -- to visit old Chance House, where a boy once fell to his death from the top floor flat, to confront his fears and find some answers. Niker, the bully, thinks this is a great laugh. He challenges Robert to spend the night at Chance House with him -- but the balance of power changes, and it is Robert who proves to be the stronger.

Divorce & Separation
under 12

Sisters…No Way!
by Siobhan Parkinson
The O'Brien Press, Pbk., ISBN 0-86278-495-6
10 – 14 years

Cindy, a with-it and cynical young teen, still traumatised by her mother's recent death, is appalled when her father falls in love with one of her teachers, a woman with two teenage daughters of her own. Surely he can't be serious? She cannot imagine a worse fate than having a teacher as her stepmother, and as for the two prissy girls - she is never going to call them sisters no way! Will the unlikely trio of stepsisters ever change their minds about each other? TWO GREAT BOOKS IN ONE: In a unique feature the girls' stories are told in two separate back-to-back books, one for Cindy and the other for Ashling and Alva. The reader can choose which story to begin with, getting a very different viewpoint on the girls depending on whose side of the story they read first

Rescuing Dad
by Pete Johnson
Corgi Children’s, Pbk., £4.99, ISBN 0-440-86457-7
8 years +

Jon and Claire can see why Mum chucked Dad out. He looks a mess, he can't cook and he's useless around the house - something must be done. They are the only ones who can transform him, and impress Mum into taking him back. Disaster strikes however when Mum starts seeing slimy and creepy Roger.

Divorce & Separation
12 +

Love and Other Four Letter Words
by Carolyn Mackler
Walker Books, Pbk., £5.99, ISBN 0-7445-9008-6
12 years +

"Mom and I have been talking a lot these past few weeks..." Dad's voice trailed off. "And we've decided to get a trial separation." Sammie Davis never expected sweet sixteen to be perfect. But then she didn't expect her parents to separate either, or to have to leave her cosy life in suburbia for a tiny apartment in New York City. She begins a hot and humid summer struggling with feelings of resentment, anger...and lust for the Johnny Depp look-alike in her apartment block. As the vacation rolls on, she makes friends and breaks friends, finds new depths to the word "love", and comes to understand that with it come other four-letter words. Like hate; loss; gain. But most important of all, grow.

Breaking Up
by Kate Cann
Livewire Books for Teenagers, Pbk., £4.99, ISBN 0-7043-4976-0
14 years +

Teenage Fliss is caught in an unbearable situation. While her little sisters are too young to know what is going on, Fliss can see that their parents' relationship is degenerating into hatred and recrimination. To mentally escape from this nightmare, she begins to lean too heavily on her boyfriend Simon, making him the single most important thing in her life. Eventually, although he cares, the pressure becomes too much and Simon leaves Fliss to face her problems on her own. The book is about the emergence of hope and maturity as Fliss comes to realise some hard and uncomfortable truths. She understands that growing up is about realising that there is no longer anyone who can tell you that "everything is going to be alright", but that whatever happens, she will be stronger in the end.

Drugs and Addiction 12 +

Disconnected
by Sherry Ashworth
CollinsFlamingo, Pbk., £5.99, ISBN 0-00-712045-1
12 years +

Catherine is a typical A-grade student from a middle class, high-achieving family, who suddenly, on entering the sixth form, loses her way. She stumbles from one situation to another, unable to work and turning to alcohol to take her mind off her problems. As she searches for answers through the varied and offbeat characters she meets, she learns a great many truths about life. Can she cope with the biggest truth of all - her own personality? Written in the first person, each chapter is addressed to someone different in Catherine's life - her mother, a teacher, a schoolfriend etc, and reflects how Catherine is different to different people. It brilliantly reflects the pressures on young people today in a world where they haven't got the time to grow up at their own pace. Is the face we present to the world our true self, or a carefully maintained construct?

Junk
by Melvin Burgess
Introduction by Julia Eccleshare
New ed, Puffin Books, Pbk., £6.99, ISBN 0-14-131593-8
14 years +

Tar and Gemma are in love. Tar has reasons for running away from home that run deep and sour, whereas Gemma, with her middle-class roots firmly on show, has a deep-rooted lust for adventure. Together they explore the dark world of the streets as, together, they explore the dark world of drugs, moving quickly on from the first hit of heroin that takes them towards bliss, to the next hit that ultimately leads to despair.

Death and Bereavement

Grandad's Prayers of the Earth
by Douglas Wood
Illustrated by P.J. Lynch
Walker Books, Hbk., £10.99, ISBN 0-7445-5648-1
2 –12 years

There are many ways to pray, says Grandad to his grandson. The boy listens to all this with fascination as Grandad seems to make the world just right. Then one day Grandad is gone and the boy is heartbroken. Will the world ever seem right again?

Saying Goodbye to a Brother or Sister
by Nicola Edwards
Chrysalis Children's Books, Hbk., £10.99, ISBN 1-84138-835-1
7 – 11 years

This series, Saying Goodbye to Someone, helps support children undergoing the difficult and upsetting stages of bereavement through understanding the natural process of emotions that result from the loss of a loved one. Each volume features a reference section containing helpful lists of addresses and organisations. The series includes Saying Goodbye To… Brother or Sister, Parent, Grandparent, Friend and Pet.

Kit's Wilderness
by David Almond
Signature, Pbk., £5.99, ISBN 0-340-72716-0
12 years +

When Kit moves to Stoneygate--a once thriving mining village haunted by a long-ago tragedy which killed 117 children--he is befriended by the wretched, sullen John Askew, a boy whose very soul has been fractured by his violent upbringing. As Kit's grieving grandfather begins to lose his grip on life, Kit is irresistibly drawn into a treacherous game played for the highest of stakes. Coming face to face with the ghosts of the wilderness--the space between the houses and the river where the ancient mine once flourished--this game ultimately tests his perceptions of life and death.

Children’s & Schools Section
Dublin City Public Libraries
October 2005

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