Patch Picks: 5 Great Children's Books

In honor of National Read Across America Day, an occasion observed in early March to encourage parents and children to read more books, we caught up with Patricia Ryan, children's librarian at the Union City Libary, to share some of her favorite books.

Though they may be "children's books," the subject matter of her selections are universal and include books that deal with war and bullying.

• Soup Day by  Melissa Iwai. It’s a cold and snowy day, but Mother and child shop for vegetables because it is “soup day.” They clean and chop and drop the vegetable pieces in a pot to cook. Then they play, read and rest while the soup bubbles away. After they clean up, Daddy comes home and it’s time to eat!
• The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz. In Laura Amy Schlitz’s book, The Night Fairy, the type of fairy you are is determined by the time of day you are born. The rarest of fairies is the one born at night. Flory is just such a fairy. Fairy mothers are very irresponsible – after their child is born they fly away and let the baby fend for itself. Thankfully fairies grown up quickly, but they still have to learn things on their own. When Flory flies for the first time, she is mistaken for a moth by a hungry bat – who bites her wings off! But Flory is fierce and willing to do whatever it takes to survive.
• Operation YES by Sarah Lewis Holmes. Bo Whaley's unconventional sixth-grade teacher, Miss Loupe, is different from any teacher he has ever had.  The story is set on an Air Force base, and Holmes weaves the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into her characters' lives: Bo's cousin Gari is separated from her mother when she is called back into duty; Bo's father is facing possible deployment; and Miss Loupe's brother is seriously injured in combat.
• Off to War: Voices of Soldiers’ Children by Deborah Ellis. Canadian and American children tell what life is like when a member of their family goes off to the Iraqi or Afghanistan war, the things they do to keep in touch while the ones they love are overseas, and the significant changes that have happened in their lives as a result of these events.
• We Want You to Know: Kids Talk About Bullying by Deborah Ellis. Through her association with a community anti-bullying campaign launched in Haldimand, Norfolk, and neighboring communities in Southern Ontario, children's author Deborah Ellis asked students from the ages of nine to nineteen to talk about their experiences with bullying. The results are thoughtful, candid, and often harrowing accounts of "business as usual" in and around today's schools. The kids in this book raise questions about the way parents, teachers and school administrators cope with bullies. They talk about which methods have helped and which ones, with the best of intentions, have failed to protect them. And some kids reveal how they have been able to overcome their fear and anger to become strong advocates for the rights of others.

Every Monday, Patricia Ryan shares classic children's books on the Union City Library blog. Find more of her picks here.