Every dedicated teacher in the world gets excited when she finds a new “tool”, or a new resource that can help her students (and dare I say her classroom parents? as well as her co-teachers?) reach new heights. Well, I’ve found one and it’s a really exciting web site. Authors Sharon Bracken and Jennifer Holmes-Avis have taken on the incredibly important task of creating wonderful books for children. Eli the Bipolar Bear talks about the difficult subject of bipolarity. Elle the Little Lost Wombat takes on the topic of international adoption. Their next contribution, Wheezy the Asthmatic tells the tale of a little zebra who learns how to cope with her asthma. They’ve created an entire list of topics they hope to present in book form:
Acne
ADHD
Aging and Assisted Living
Albino
Allergies
Anger
Aspberger's Syndrome
Asthma
Autism
Bed Wetting
Bi Polar Disorder
Buck-Teeth
Cancer
Celiac Disease
Cerebral Palsy
Child Abuse
Cornelia DeLange Syndrome
Crohnes Disease
Cystic Fibrosis
Developmental Delays
Diabetes
Dialysis
Disruptive
Divorce
Down Syndrome
Eating Disorders
Epilepsy
Foster Care
Gifted and Talented
Global Disorder
Growth Impairment
Head Injuries
Hearing Impairments (deaf)
HIV / AIDS
International Adoption
ITP- Blood Platelet Disorder
Large Ears
Large Nose
Large Stature
Lazy Student
Learning Disabilities
Left- Handed
Leukemia
Mental Illness
Mental Retardation
Migraines
Military Families
Missing Limbs
Natural Disaster Relief
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Osgood-Schlaters Disease
Parent Death
Parkinson's Disease
Physical Disabilities
Prader-Willi Syndrome
Reading Disability
Red Headed
Rheumatoid Arthritis
School Help
Scoliosis
Shy
Sickle Cell Anemia
Speech Impairment
Spherocytosis
Spina Bifida
Test Anxiety
Tourettes Syndrome
Transition
Under-Achieving
Visual Impairment
I suspect these books are going to be incorporated into classroom libraries very soon and that teachers are going to be sharing them eagerly with peers and parents. As teachers we try to bring understanding, acceptance, and tolerance into the classroom. We try to create opportunities to talk about different human conditions. We try to help our students find order in the world.
I just know that somewhere along your professional career you've had a child who is coping with one of the above topics. Do yourself, your students and your parents a favor: visit this wonderful resource at:
http://www.ChildHerosPublishing.com
Even the way they named their web site tells you how they feel about their work. “The company describes its books as ‘a first step towards healing, and an understanding for children,’ adding, ‘We understand that life happens differently to every child.!’”
As teachers, we know that life happens differently to every child and addressing those differences can make all the difference in the world to our students.
Comments