Just for Me Books

We only have to look at the world around us to find diversity: cats, dogs, birds, people . . . no two of us are exactly alike. Every creature is unique and every person has his or her own individual personality, talents, and interests. In We Are Different and Alike, author Cynthia Geisen helps young people understand and appreciate the diversity of the world around us and its many expressions in families, faiths, races, and cultures.

We want our kids to be safe, happy, and well-adjusted. But we all know that our children, like us, have to face a lot of difficult things in their lives. And one of them is fear. Although adults have learned that one of the best remedies for tackling fears is an abundance of love and care, children still need support and guidance. In Sometimes I'm Afraid: A Book about Fear. . . Just for Me!, author, Michaelene Mundy, helps young readers understand what it means to be afraid and how to find courage and support in their friends and loved ones.

Learning to do the right thing is a lifelong task. Because children are newcomers on the path of social, moral, and spiritual development, they need caring guides to help them along the way. In Making Good Choices: A Book about Right and Wrong . . . Just for Me!, author Lisa O. Engelhardt helps children learn from their everyday choices and experiences to give them the skills and perspectives necessary to become compassionate, caring, and responsible adults.

Children's anger can be upsetting and unsettling to the grown-ups in their worlds. We've all dealt with tantrums and pouting at the least convenient times. If only we could flip a switch on that anger and restore calm to our homes and classrooms. In Being Mad: A Book about Anger. . . Just for Me!, author, Molly Wigand, helps children learn to understand and accept their anger and to express their anger in healthy ways.

God is a mystery and, although our attempts to define or explain God always fall short, we can describe our experiences of God. In What Is God Like?: A Book about God . . . Just for Me!, author Cynthia Geisen introduces children to a way of getting to know God that helps them understand all the ways God can be found in the world around us-the God who is so eagerly waiting to be discovered.

For children, who are "new" at so many things, it can be a very difficult experience to lose a loved one. For the very young, the finality of death is hard to understand. How, after all, could something like this happen? Where is this person? Will they be back? Who is going to take care of me now? The questions and the sadness, whether they are voiced or not, can go on and on. Author, Linus Mundy, offers practical coping skills to help young readers understand their feelings of grief and reassurance that, some way, somehow, things can be good again.

Inevitably divorce is difficult for children. There is no way around this. But even the very youngest children need a way to understand and make sense of how their family is changing. Author Emily Menendez-Aponte offers a starting point to begin explaining divorce to your child. She helps explain to children that divorce is not their fault, that it's normal to feel upset and scared and confused, and that it's good to get all these feelings out.

Those long summer days and weekends spent with our best friends can be among the happiest memories of childhood. But the art of making friends isn't a skill that is taught in most schools. Teaching children how to be good friends and cultivate healthy friendships is the work of parents, teachers, coaches, ministers, and caring adults. In How to Be a Friend: A Book about Friendship . . . Just for Me!, author, Molly Wigand, introduces children to those values that make for good friendships-loyalty, trust, and honesty-and to how they can become a good friend to others.