a tender and gentle look at grief and recovering joyfully

a tender and gentle look at grief and recovering joyfully

ages 2 to 12 years
Books that offer positive mechanisms for coping with grief that aren’t overly sad or far too heavy thematically for young children are thin on the ground, but this is one. And it's a rare child whose life remains untouched by grief, traumatic or simple. 

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love can be a little bit blind where pets are concerned

love can be a little bit blind where pets are concerned

ages baby to 8 years
Hank is a good dog – and Hank knows it. Still, it might be hard for an onlooker to tell. Our dog Scott is a good dog too - and he knows it too. But sometimes it’s even hard for me to tell! Hank reminded me of Scott....

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have you ever felt lost? out of place? in need of a home? This Book!

have you ever felt lost? out of place? in need of a home? This Book!

ages 2 up to 12 years
Have you ever felt LOST or perhaps just out of place, in need of home? Ahh, but have you ever felt FOUND, in the perfect place, completely at home? In this thoroughly appealing story, a boy and a penguin move from being lost to being found. 

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a real-life story about the value of work and philanthropy

a real-life story about the value of work and philanthropy

Set in Ghana. Years ago, when Max was eight, we had a conversation that went something like this:
Max:  So Mum what is the solution to the people in Africa who only have one bag of grain a month to eat. One Hen goes a long way towards answering that question.
ages 4 to 12 years

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sobering and ponderous and breathtaking

sobering and ponderous and breathtaking

ages 8 years and up
This is a truly remarkable book – the sort that makes you gasp and know that it needs to be in your house, on your table and hopefully in the hearts of your family. It’s a refugee story and perhaps a Christmas fable - there’s a mother and a baby, a father and a donkey. 
 

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about exemplary women and men

about exemplary women and men

ages 4 to 12 years
I confess that I'm not a big fan of the whole hero culture that we seem to have going. Too often the ‘heroes’ aren’t heroic and are anything but role model material. But Peaceful Heroes is a collection of super-short biographies of people who have impacted the world positively and peacefully. 
 

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an ode to the importance of hope amidst despair

an ode to the importance of hope amidst despair

ages about 8 to grownup
The dreadful realities of history include events and times like the Cultural Revolution in China. Times that test the limits of our imaginations and our resolve. The Red Piano is a beautifully told story that takes us into the life of a young girl living through the Cultural Revolution. 

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