Kindergarten TOUGH TOPICS through Grade 2 Inspiring Conversations in Difficult Times into depression and the color that returns the best way to care for her hair and keep Adoption gradually as he undergoes counseling. it beautiful and healthy is to treat it like a garden. Gaston Emily’s Blue Period By Kelly DiPuccio, Illus. by Christian Robinson By Cathleen Daly, Illus. by Lisa Brown One of a Kind Like Me/Único Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014. 40p. Roaring Brook Press, 2014. 56p. como yo Gaston is a bulldog puppy who doesn’t look Emily struggles with the depression and By Lauren Mayeno Illus. by Robert Liu-Trujillo quite right in his poodle pack, but learns that sadness she feels after her parents separate, Blood Orange Press, 2016. 31p. love is what makes a family. making a connection between this difficult Danny is determined to create the perfect moment in her life and Picasso’s Blue Period. purple princess costume for himself with Home at Last Mama’s help and despite the criticism of By Vera B. Williams, I Used to Be Afraid doubters. Illus. by Chris Raschka and Vera B. Williams By Laura Vaccaro Seeger HarperCollins, 2016. 32p. Roaring Books Press, 2015. 40p. Wild About Us! Lester is happy when he is adopted by Daddy A little girl describes all the things she used By Karen Beaumont, Illus. by Janet Stevens Albert and Daddy Rich, however at night he to be afraid of, but is not anymore. A relatable Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. 32p. finds he cannot fall asleep because he is alone look at the fears young children have and how and wonders when he will feel truly at “home.” Told by Warty Warthog, all the animals in to face them. the zoo look different or have unique things about themselves in this celebration of Just Right Family: Me and My Fear individualism. An Adoption Story By Francesca Sanna By Silvia Lopez, Illus. by Ziyue Chen Flying Eye Books, 2018. 40p. Albert Whitman & Company, 2018. 32p. Fear follows us everywhere. Sometimes it Bullying Meili thinks that getting a puppy would be grows so big it gets in the way of everyday better than a little sister. The whole family things. When we share our feelings, they grow prepares for the new baby to arrive, and when smaller and more manageable. Eddie the Bully she does, she’s just right—like their family. By Henry Cole Little Bee Books, 2016. 32p. A Most Unusual Day Body Image/Self Esteem This young bully gets a second chance at By Sydra Mallery, Illus. by E.B. Goodale making friends when the new student Carla Greenwillow Books, 2018. 40p. shows him some kindness. Everything is just a bit off for Caroline as she Giraffe Problems anxiously makes her way through an important By Jory John, Illus. by Lane Smith Lila and the Crow Random House Books for Young Readers, 2018. 42p. day, the day her new adopted sister arrives. By Gabrielle Grimmard Giraffe doesn’t feel good about his neck. Annick Press, 2016. 32p. It’s too long, too bendy, too patterned, and Lila has just moved to a new town where everyone stares at it. Then he meets an she is teased about the color of her hair and Anxiety and Depression admiring turtle who shows him how great skin. An encounter with a crow helps her to differences can be. embrace her true self. The Color Thief: A Family’s Story of Depression My Hair is a Garden By Andrew & Polly Peters, Illus. by Karin Littlewood By Cozbi A. Cabrera Albert Whitman, 2015. 24p. Albert Whitman and Company, 2018. 32p. A child describes the black and white After being teased by her classmates about world his father experiences when he falls her unruly hair, a young girl learns that This booklist was created by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Titles on this list were selected by members of ALSC’s Quicklists Consulting Committee. For more booklists, please visit www.ala.org/alsc/booklists. © 2019 American Library Association 2 TOUGH TOPICS: Inspiring Conversations in Difficult Times I Walk with Vanessa: A Story dealing with the loss of his father, this story Divorce/Single Parent communicates the experience of grief in a About a Simple Act of Kindness touching and loving manner while centering By Kerascoët on the evolution of a small pond. Schwartz & Wade, 2018. 40p. I Love You More Than... Troubled after seeing a classmate being By Taye Diggs, Illus. by Shane W. Evans bullied, a young girl takes simple but Feiwel & Friends, 2018. 32p. The Rabbit Listened courageous action in this inspiring, wordless Portraying the separation of a child from a By Cori Doerrfeld picture book. parent, the story reinforces the message of Dial Books, 2018. 40p. love and reassurance. A young boy deals with loss by talking to all of Red the stuffed animals in his house. Each of the Monday, Wednesday, and Every animals tries to “fix” the problem for him, but By Jan De Kinder, Tr. by Laura Watkinson in the end, the rabbit just listens, and helps Eerdmans, 2015. 32p. Other Weekend the boy most of all. A girl and her friends laugh when a classmate By Karen Stanton blushes on the playground. When one student Feiwel & Friends, 2014. 40p. takes the teasing and bullying too far, the girl Traveling between his mother’s house and his A Stone for Sascha must make a critical decision. father’s house causes confusion for Henry By Aaron Becker Cooper and his dog, Pomegranate. Which is Candlewick, 2018. 48p. “home”? A beloved family dog passes away and through Super Manny Stands Up a stone of grief cast by a little girl, travels By Kelly DiPucchio, Illus by Stephanie Graegin through the cosmos to time immortal. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017. 40p. Walk With Me Every day, Manny battles imaginary hordes By Jairo Buitrago, Illus. by Rafael Yockteng of giants, cloud monsters and zombie bears. House of Anansi Press, 2017. 35p. Where Do They Go? When he’s faced with a bully in the school Although her father no longer lives at her By Julia Alvarez, Illus. by Sabra Field cafeteria, will he have the courage to do what home, a little girl moves about her day Triangle Square, 2016. 20p. he knows is right? encouraged by his enduring presence. In poetic form, this book provides answers to many tough questions children have about death. Weekends with Max and His Dad Body Safety By Linda.Urban, Illus. by Katie Kath Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 150p. Third-grader Max adapts to his parents’ Home Situation Change I Said No! A Kid-to-Kid Guide to recent divorce. During their visits, Max and Keeping Private Parts Private, his loving and humorous father play spies, 3rd ed. work on homework, sing, and eat lots of pizza Far Apart, Close in Heart: Being By Kimberly and Zack King, Illus. by Sue Ramá together. a Family When a Loved One is Boulden Publishing, 2016. 38p. Incarcerated Zack and his mom have a conversation about By Becky Birtha, Illus. by Maja Kastelic proper and improper touching, and different Grief Albert Whitman & Company, 2017. 32p. ways to handle “red flag” situations. Open- With a diverse cast of characters, the story ended questions for discussion make this a validates the complex emotions of children versatile resource. Blue who have a parent in jail, ultimately sharing By Laura Vaccaro Seeger the message of parental love. Miles is the Boss of His Body Roaring Brook Press, 2018. 40p. By Samantha Kurtzman-Counter and Abbie Schiller This story celebrates the bond of friendship Mabel and Sam at Home The Mother Company, 2014. 32p. between a boy and his dog, and sensitively By Linda Urban, Illus. by Hadley Hooper On his 6th birthday, Miles’ family respects his portrays the difficult emotions of dealing with Chronicle Books, 2018. 60p. the dog’s death. personal boundaries when he decides that This book celebrates imaginative play as two he has had enough pinching, hugging and children adjust to a move to a new home. The tickling. Death is Stupid collection of three stories follows the children By Anastasia Higginbotham as they explore their new home through Some Secrets Should Never Be The Feminist Press at CUNY, 2016. 64p. imagination and play. Kept In a candid look at death, this book acknowledges the anger, fear and confusion Still a Family: A Story about By Jayneen Sanders, Illus. by Craig Smith that we all feel when confronted with the Educate2Empower Publishing, 2015. 32p. fragility of life. Homelessness Alfred got along with Lord Henry really well By Brenda Reeves Sturgis, Illus. by Jo-Shin Lee until one day Lord Henry began to tickle him Albert Whitman and Company, 2017. 32p. in a way that made him uncomfortable. Alfred The Pond Even though they are separated into different learns that some secrets should never be By Nicola Davies, Illus, by Cathy Fisher homeless shelters, a girl and her parents kept. Graffeg, 2017. 32p. maintain their loving bond. Told from the perspective of a young boy TOUGH TOPICS: Inspiring Conversations in Difficult Times 3 Yard Sale A Piece of Home The Breaking News By Eve Bunting, Illus. by Lauren Castillo By Jeri Watts; Illus. by Hyewon Yum By Sarah Lynne Reul Candlewick, 2015. 32p. Candlewick Press, 2016. 32p. Roaring Brook, 2018. 48p. With her family downsizing from a house to Hee Jun and his family are slowly adjusting to When bad news leaves her parents scared and a small apartment, a young girl reminisces their new home in America but it is difficult worried, a little girl finds that small acts of about the items she is saying goodbye to at when everything is different and new.