Much of the best children’s literature portrays characters as they face significant barriers or challenges. Teachers may be familiar with Newbery winning books featuring characters with autism, deafness, and stuttering. In addition, the Schneider Family Book Award presented by ALA, seeks to honor the best books that portray the “disability experience.” This column does not present solely books with disability as a theme, but instead includes books where young people struggle with physical or mental health, including the health of loved ones. While there remains a great need to provide our readers with even more exemplary realistic fiction that presents characters who fearlessly tackle a variety of threats to their healthy development, their overall livelihood, and the survival of their community, we believe these books are exemplary in how they present these aspects of the human condition. The members of the Children’s Literature and Special Interest Group provide the following recent selections showing children and adolescents who thrive in the face of health challenges of all sorts.

Grades K-2

Leronimo, Christine. (2014). A Thirst for Hope. Illus. by Eric Velasquez. New York, NY:       Walker Books for Young Readers (Bloomsbury Publishing).

In this emotional picture book, readers will meet a young Ethiopian girl named Alemitu, her name means “world.”  In her small village, she and her mother must walk many miles to access water. Her mother explains how precious a natural resource water is for survival. In the face of hunger and a depleted food supply, Alemitu’s mother makes a heart-wrenching and difficult decision to put her daughter up for adoption. The latter part of the story shows Alemitu (now named Eva, meaning life) with her adopted family. Alemitu’s descriptions of the world around here signify an appreciation for the simple gifts of her new surroundings. There is a brief author’s note at the back of the book with links to web resources about the number of Ethiopian families who have limited access to clean and safe drinking water. The author mentions that due to increased poverty and lack of education, many women are unable to provide the essential necessities to raise their children. Though the reader is left with questions about whether or not Alemitu communicates with her mother again, this picture book raises awareness about the hardships faced by many people in our world. The depth of emotion is richly captured by Velasquez’s luminous illustrations.

—Mary Napoli, Penn State Harrisburg

Napoli, Donna Jo. (2014). Hands and Hearts. Illus. by Amy Bates. New York, NY: Abrams   Books for Young Readers.

A beautiful message is found within the pages of this delightful simple story—love. The gentle pencil and watercolor illustrations wash the pages as a young daughter communicates the utter joy and delight of a beach outing. “Build a tower/shape a wall/press on shells/to make it shine.” Mother and daughter make many new memories as they build a sandcastle, dance, laugh, and play at the beach. Throughout the pages, readers will find one word highlighted in red along with sign language illustrations. Every illustration shows the characters communicating the message through American Sign Language. This is a touching story about the special bond between mother and daughter. The author includes a letter to the reader with further information about her background and interest in learning more and writing stories about deaf culture.

—Mary Napoli, Penn State Harrisburg

Grades 3-5

Palacio, R.J. (2014). 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Precepts. New York, NY:     Random House.

Marketed as a “companion” to Palacio’s well-received novel Wonder, this unique book takes off where Auggie’s Pullman’s story left off. In the novel, Auggie enters fifth grade after being home-schooled due to a facial abnormality. Readers meet his fifth grade English teacher, Mr. Browne, whose daily “precepts” help Auggie and his classmates as they grapple with issues of bullying, self-acceptance, and true friendship. 365 Days of Wonder is a compilation of the teacher’s favorite quotes, also called “maxims” and described as “principals to live by.” Each quote gets its own dedicated page with offerings from varied sources—from Pythagoras to John Lennon to Jimmy Johnson. In addition, Palacio included artwork and precepts from readers of Wonder. The book mostly functions as a compendium of quotes, but readers will also get to hear from characters form Wonder through letters and emails interspersed throughout the calendar year that organizes the book. 365 Days of Wonder has great potential as a classroom tool within the writing curriculum.

—Lesley Colabucci, Millersville University of Pennsylvania

Holm, Jennifer. (2014). The Fourteenth Goldfish. New York, NY: Random House Books for             Young Readers.

This story carefully balances between contemporary realistic fiction and fantasy. Readers are introduced to Ellie and get to know her as a typical tween struggling with friendship, family dynamics, and a possible first romance. However, all of these experiences are heightened (and ultimately brightened) by the fact that Ellie’s scientist grandfather has turned up at her house as a 13-year-old boy. Melvin is in a teenager’s body but he maintains the perspective of an old man. Ellie gets to know her grandfather and finds herself inspired by the scientists he loves. In turn, Melvin has a lesson to learn from his granddaughter about aging and science. Ellie’s story stands out because of the positive portrayal of her family, her parents are divorced and she has a healthy relationship with both her father and her mother’s boyfriend. The Fourteenth Goldfish features a female character discovering her love of science and gaining a strong sense of self.

—Lesley Colabucci, Millersville University of Pennsylvania

Grades 6-8

Holczer, Tracy (2014). The Secret Hum of a Daisy. New York, NY: GP Putnam and Sons.

After the death of her mother, 12-year-old Grace finds herself living with her previously estranged grandmother. The story chronicles how Grace copes with her grief and functions as a story of self-discovery and coming of age. Grace is a writer, a reader, and an artist. Unfortunately, she places a moratorium on her writing as a way of avoiding accepting her mother’s death, stating “as long as I didn’t write the after, anything was possible.” Grace finds that, despite her best efforts, she needs to write, and she soon finds herself growing to like her grandmother and becoming invested in her new community. This poetic story alternates between heart-wrenching and heartwarming, but the emphasis on books (particularly the poetry of Robert Frost), the portrayal of school, and the coming of age elements come together for a very satisfying read.

—Lesley Colabucci, Millersville University of Pennsylvania

Harrington, Karen. (2014). Courage for Beginners. New York, NY: Little, Brown and           Company.

Entering the seventh grade is certainly a challenging time for anyone, including Mysti Murphy. Mysti is self-reliant and extremely resilient in the face of adversity. Her natural storytelling abilities arm her with adventures that provide her with courage and intrinsic understanding. Her mother has severe agoraphobia, which means that she is fearful of enclosed spaces and does not leave the house. The household responsibilities of going grocery shopping or driving Mysti and her sister to school are left to her father. However, when her father suffers a head injury and must be hospitalized, Mysti summons the courage to resume the home responsibilities. At school, her best friend Anibal Gomez, decides to ignore her for his social experiment. Though they communicate via text message, the one precursor to his anticipated popularity is to not associate with her at lunch. Throughout the story, Mysti learns much more about his character and questionable friendship.  She does meet a quirky new friend, Rama Khan, whose integrity and strong sense of justice fuels Mysti’s strength.  Mysti navigates the constant challenges with courage and determination.  The author’s rich sense of character development, humor, and content truly makes this an inspirational story.

—Mary Napoli, Penn State Harrisburg

Grades 9-12

Anderson, Laurie Halse. (2014). Impossible Knife of Memory. New York, NY: Penguin           Group.

As readers have come to expect from Anderson, this book takes on a difficult topic without sugarcoating the harsh realities. Seventeen-year-old Hayley lives with her father, who is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. She watches as her father deals with flashbacks he can’t control and attempts to cope with the help of drugs and alcohol. Hayley takes care of her father the best she can while struggling with her own past. Through an engaging and straightforward narrative, the author gives plenty of dimension to both Hayley and her father. Hayley’s school experiences and her relationship with her boyfriend play an important role in the resolution in this excellent piece of young adult literature showing hope while realistically portraying challenges most of us will never have to endure.

—Lesley Colabucci, Millersville University of Pennsylvania

McGovern, Cammie. (2014). Say What You Will. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

After hearing Cammie McGovern talk about her debut young adult novel on NPR, I was immediately drawn to its storyline. The novel is beautifully written and navigates the challenges of two incredible characters as they enter their senior year. Amy has severe cerebral palsy and needs to use a walker to get around. She uses a special machine to communicate and performs exceedingly well in all of her classes. In an effort to make the most of her senior year, Amy convinces her mother to hire peer helpers. After carefully screening the applicants, her mother selects a group of her classmates, including Matthew. Matthew is different from her other peer helpers. Not only is he attentive and caring, but he has his own set of issues to overcome. He has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and is often teased for being different. Throughout the novel, they overcome complicated and emotional challenges. As they spend more and more time together, their friendship strengthens and eventually blossoms into love. With interesting characters, real issues, and gentle humor, McGovern affords young adult readers with a touching and compelling story.

—Mary Napoli, Penn State Harrisburg

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online.