help request: book recs for Junie

[psocoptera]

When Grammie died, we read "Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs" over and over. (Thanks again to allecto for the recommendation.) I went to the library today and browsed the "trauma shelf" (you know, Mommy's cancer, Grandpa's Alzheimers, Dad's restraining order, etc) but couldn't find anything that seemed appropriate. There are plenty of books about *moving*, which all assume that you have been lovingly preparing your child for this event for weeks or even months, your child is nervous, and now it's the big day and don't worry all your stuff got packed up into boxes and it's coming with you! Which honestly sort of made me want to hit something. There were books about living in a shelter or being homeless, but despite news reports we're not exactly homeless either. There were books about fire *safety* but that sort of seems like giving a book on contraception to a kid with a new sibling. I asked a librarian* for help and she found me a book in the regular children's section called "It's Moving Day" by Pamela Hickman about various animals finding new homes, some of them unexpectedly because they had to flee predators, which seems like a great place to start, but Junie is just three, she's very literal, something that really specifically told the story of a family who had a fire at their house would probably be more meaningful for her.

So: librarians, educators, people who just like doing research: please find me a suggestion for a book for Junie.

*The awesome librarian helping me was the info desk librarian; just as we were wrapping up the children's librarian came along - my past experience with her is that she's kind of ancient and not altogether with it and I try to avoid asking her anything, but the info desk librarian seemed very hopeful that she might know the collection better, so I asked. She was very puzzled. "Moving? and fires? Together? What? What do you mean all the moving books are about intentional moves? Of course they are..." One of those "this poor person is going to feel bad in thirty seconds when she puts it together" moments, but I may have snapped at her slightly when I said that if I came up with anything good I would buy the library a copy. Sigh.

Comments

[irilyth]

There's clearly a writing opportunity here. :^)

It could be a whole series! "When you have to move because of ...", with titles such as "... fire", "... foreclosure", "... trouble with the law", etc.

(sigh)

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that!

TSOR on amazon suggests that these books aren't plentiful. I found this one: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-ANNETTE-GRIESSMAN/dp/0399240195/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294166303&sr=1-3 which looks lovely, although it's out of print and is pitched towards slightly older kids.

Also, you might need this one: http://www.amazon.com/Mommy-Why-There-Server-House/dp/160530641X/ref=sr_1_13?s=books
(I don't know anything about the book other than the title_

[eastgategirl.livejournal.com]

These are two reviews of The Fire that make it sound like a good possibility:

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–Maria is playing with her teddy bear and Pepito is coloring a picture while their mother makes soup. Suddenly they smell smoke and realize that their house is on fire. Maria helps her brother crawl on the floor under the smoke and all three escape safely. The firemen arrive but are unable to save the house. As the children and their mother wait forlornly outside, a fireman brings them the only things salvaged: the teddy bear and a photograph of the family. Maria says, Everything is gone! but her mother gently replies, The picture reminds me of what I have. This is everything. Told from the girl's point of view, the story contains descriptive images (I take a deep breath and feel the rubber bands in my stomach relax). Beautiful, glowing illustrations done in acrylics and pastels illuminate it. They are fashioned mainly with dark backgrounds against which the fire and firemen stand out in warm yellows and reds. The emotions of the characters are softly delineated and reassurance is conveyed at the end. This fine book has a message that could help children experiencing any kind of life-changing disaster.–Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
K-Gr. 3. The title and the firemen on the jacket immediately establish the framework for a picture book that works both as poignant portrait of a family in crisis and a tribute to firefighters. Mama is making soup, Pepito is coloring, and Maria, the story's narrator, is holding her toy bear, Nina, when smoke starts to filter in from the hall. The three run outside as firemen arrive. As they watch the roof fall in, they realize nothing is left. Then a fireman hands them Nina and a framed photo of all of them. The last line resonates: "The fire came and took our home--but it didn't take everything." Acrylics and pastels in intense, fiery reds, oranges, and golds viscerally convey the children's fright and the vicious heat of the blaze, and sensitive phrasing will connect kids right to the characters' feelings: "I have a funny feeling in my stomach, like it is made of a hundred rubber bands." In contrast to David Diaz's heavy brushstrokes and cubist images for Eve Bunting's Smoky Night (1994), Gore's art makes the tragedy personal, less harsh in its grim realism, and closer to home. A heartfelt, tender story. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

[motyl.livejournal.com]

A librarian friend found Fire, which ruth linked to, and

http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Anniversary-Edition-Reading-Rainbow/dp/0688040748/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

which is hypothetically age appropriate but maybe less targeted; it's about saving up to buy that big comfy chair they can snuggle in post-fire. I don' t know if scarcity is a practical short term thing to point out or a scary "but can we afford" sort of thing but hey, book.

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you for this, Junie had liked another book by the same author ages ago and I had vague recollections of looking at this and deciding that (ha) we didn't need to introduce the idea of losing stuff in a fire and I couldn't remember the title or author or find it at the library yesterday and it was going to drive me nuts until I tracked it down, so, huzzah.

[myalexandria.livejournal.com]

I actually was about to recommend "A Chair for My Mother"! I read it lots when I was a kid (it was never specifically relevant, I just liked it.)

[gallian.livejournal.com]

i shall ask ryenna who is a darn good children's librarian. If she doesn't know, I'm gonna go with: there aren't any.

[ursula]

This one is about saving to buy new furniture after a house fire?

A Chair for My Mother

[ryenna.livejournal.com]

Hi there. I was pointed here by gallian as I'm a children's librarian (just south of Boston) but the two I was able to find quickly have already been mentioned. We have Griessman's The Fire here and I took a look at it but I'm not sure it really covers what you're looking for. The story starts with the kids smelling smoke and their mother telling them they need to get out of the house, then shows the actual fire. It ends with the recovery of a teddy bear and a family photo, so it doesn't really handle the moving aspect. A Chair for My Mother, on the other hand, sort of picks up where The Fire leaves off. Our copy is out so I can't look and refresh my memory, but I recall it starting with some talk about the fire and how the family lost everything and had to move to a smaller house and their neighbors brought them furniture to fill it with. They're definitely the two books I'd hand you if you walked into my library and asked what you asked above, even if they're not quite as perfect for a three year old as I might like. I'll keep digging at our collection when I get back in here (we're about to close for the night and it's easier for me to search while I'm here).

I can make two other offers: 1. I can easily put a message out on our local network's inter-library message board and also out on the statewide children's librarian mailing list if you'd like. 2. If you'd like to visit a library with a large children's staff (six of us total, if you count the three of us who also work at branches), we would welcome you here and we are easily reachable by the T. Toss an email my way (my LJ name at gmail) if you'd like. I work 9-5 on Saturday.

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the recommendations; I've put in some requests (yay Minuteman system!). Already, reading "It's Moving Day", my kid has made the connection "they're moving like us!" - I figure I have about six more months before she's rolling her eyes and complaining that mom's making her read topical books again ::grin::.

[ryenna.livejournal.com]

The Minuteman system is fantastic. Whenever I have to request things from outside my own network I always go for Minuteman first. They're so fast.

[belecrivain.livejournal.com]

Sheena has a book called "A Visit to the Sesame Street Fire Station". It's not quite what's you're looking for, as the building on fire is specified as abandoned, but I will happily package it with some care items if that helps.

Also on the SS front: this video is all about rebuilding Big Bird's nest after it's destroyed in a hurricane.

[jaipur.livejournal.com]

Too early for Fahrenheith 451, huh? Might have to wait a few years still for her to read that one... (grin, duck) Seriously, it sounds like you're getting some suggestions, and I hope it helps little Junie! :)