By Sheila Welch
These four books focus on the important interpersonal relationships within families.
HI is a simple story by Ann Herbert Scott about a toddler Hispanic girl who goes with her mother to the post office. The illustrations by Glo Coalson expand the text with bold, expressive watercolors. The child attempts to interact with the strangers waiting in line, but no one responds. Finally, when the post office worker smiles and returns the little girl’s greeting, young listeners will understand her sense of satisfaction. The quiet, supportive relationship between a parent and child is beautifully depicted in this charming read-aloud for preschoolers and kindergartners.
Another picture book, MY DADDY, written and illustrated by Susan Paradis, conveys the close connection between an involved father and his young son. With very few words (only about 100) and imaginative, boldly colorful pictures, this book will encourage little ones to think and talk about their own fathers. Pair this with HI for a comparison of the activities and feelings that kids share with their mothers and fathers.
THE SUMMER MY FATHER WAS TEN, written by Pat Brisson, is illustrated with detailed, realistic watercolors by Andrea Shine. Although in appearance a picture book, this story is definitely for older children ages eight to twelve. Every year, the child narrator helps her dad plant, tend, and harvest a garden. And every year, her father tells her about the summer he was ten and played baseball with a bunch of friends. After the game turned into a food fight using vegetables from the garden of an elderly neighbor, her father felt terrible. The following spring, he approached the old man and helped him grow another garden. . . and another as each year went by. A friendship blossomed and endured until the old man died. This unusually told and poignant story portrays the loving relationship between the adult father and his young daughter.
COUNTING THYME is author Melanie Conklin’s 2016 debut novel for readers in grades fourth and up. Thyme is the middle child in her family, and she feels as though she doesn’t count for much because her little brother has cancer and needs so much of her parents‘ time and energy. When Val’s treatment requires a temporary move from sunny San Diego to wintery New York, Thyme assumes she’ll be back to her old life in a few months. This sensitively told account will be appreciated by young readers who’re interested in complex, realistic, yet hopeful family stories.
About Sheila
Sheila Kelly Welch is a mother, grandmother and retired teacher. She counts among her children’s fiction books LITTLE PRINCE KNOW-IT-ALL and A HORSE FOR ALL SEASONS. Sheila's novel, WAITING TO FORGET, has been selected by Bank Street College and Pennsylvania School Library Association for their lists of best-books-of-the-year. Her most recent stories, MESS-UP MOLLY and BIG CAT AND KITTEN, are published on-line by MeeGenius.
