Scary Book Week

Scary Books~ Week 5!

Bibliotherapy Genre

As Karen Gavigan states, "In today's increasingly diverse society, it is critical to provide children and young adults with quality literature that can help them develop empathy and acceptance of individual differences."

These are books that I could not live without as a child who experienced adversity in many ways:

Flowers in the Attic

From Amazon:

At the top of the stairs there are four secrets hidden. Blond, beautiful, innocent, and struggling to stay alive…
They were a perfect family, golden and carefree—until a heartbreaking tragedy shattered their happiness. Now, for the sake of an inheritance that will ensure their future, the children must be hidden away out of sight, as if they never existed. Kept on the top floor of their grandmother’s vast mansion, their loving mother assures them it will be just for a little while. But as brutal days swell into agonizing months and years, Cathy, Chris, and twins Cory and Carrie realize their survival is at the mercy of their cruel and superstitious grandmother…and this cramped and helpless world may be the only one they ever know. 
Book One of the Dollanganger series, followed by Petals in the Wind, If There be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows.

Even looking at the cover horrifies me... how could I have read these books so voraciously?? It may be that my mother was so sick with bipolar and I (still!) have horrific feelings of resentment towards her. The grandmother in this book made me realize that I didn't have it so bad-- I guess!?

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
From Goodreads:
"Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy."
So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.
Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.
This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. However, I love that it illustrates how love can be complicated and can help open up discussions about healthy relationships.

The Velveteen Rabbit

From Goodreads:

Nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

Like the Skin Horse, Margery Williams understood how toys--and people--become real through the wisdom and experience of love. This reissue of a favorite classic, with the original story and illustrations as they first appeared in 1922, will work its magic for all who read it.

I loved this book as a child so much that my husband and I chose an excerpt for our wedding. I love the notion of unconditional love and this is something that I want my own children to understand and feel from us.

Notable mention:

The Berenstain Bears taught me everything from how to go the dentist to how to avoid strangers. Each title taught something to me (and now my own children) and I would count these books as an early literacy version of Bibliotherapy.

THRILLER (Scary)

R.L. Stine

I read every title I could get my hands on as a youth, and I am shocked by that now because I always hated thriller. Yet, this author kept me coming back for me and I see the same with my students still.