SEL - Friendly Books

[HannahFrey]

The Rabbit Listened by: Cori Doerrfeld

This book is about a young boy names Taylor, who experiences a sad situation. Taylor does not know what to do or who to turn to, but the animals want to help him out! The animals suggest talking it out, expressing angry emotions, and other potential actions/behaviors but Taylor turns them all down. When the rabbit arrives, he just sits down and listens to Taylor. The rabbit provided comfort by allowing Taylor to talk about the situation, without butting in or saying his own thoughts. The point of this novel is to teach children how to provide comfort in a healing process, through a gentle and loving atmosphere. Most of the time, all our friends or peers need is someone to listen to them.

There are a variety of ways to provide children with personal growth through this book, as both the struggler and comforter. It is important to know when to step in and take action, or to just simply be a shoulder for loved ones to lean on. When to step forward and relate, or to just allow the person in need the time to comprehend and express the situation they are going through. It is a matter of respecting peers, that everyone goes through their own issues, and that every individual handles their own situation differently from one another as well. Not only should students grow as individuals through this book, but understand that barriers and obstacles may appear different amongst different people. 

How can this story help children as readers though? This book can help young students with comprehension and decoding, when it comes to enhancing reading skills. The words and illustrations portray a sad mood, which the children can pick up upon. From there, students understand the mood and atmosphere of their characters. This can help with decoding new or unfamiliar words through the passage, further expanding their own vocabulary. Not only does this book teach children how to work through situations as the struggler or comforter, but also provides the opportunities to enhance reading skills to be a successful reader.

Doerrfeld, C. (2018, February 20). The rabbit listened: Hardcover. Barnes & Noble. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rabbit-listened-cori-doerrfeld/1126438104 

A Walk in the Words by: Hudson Talbott

The young boy of this story loves to draw and tell stories, but reading about them is a whole other ballgame. The boy can read one word at a time, but putting words together in a fluent sentence was a struggle. It was hard for him to watch his classmates and peers move on every year to chapter books, or readings that were challenging. He felt alone, ashamed, and embarrassed of his reading struggles. His love for storytelling is what made him keep going, so he took words one at a time to build up this reading skill.

This story can provide personal growth through learning to accept our own struggles. By accepting our own ways to learn though, we can also learn to respect that our peers and classmates may learn differently as well. Some students pick information up right away, others may need a few days, some individuals may prefer math while other enjoy reading, and so on! It is also important to acknowledge that individuals learn different from one another whether it be auditory, visual, or kinesthetic. Not only can we grow by accepting our own ways of learning/growing, but we can learn to respect that our peers may learn differently in other aspects as well.

Personally, I needed this book at a young student. At a young age, I was placed on an IEP for my struggles in reading comprehension and decoding. It was hard to watch my peers succeed in reading, while I was stuck in the same place always struggling. I did not know what I was doing wrong, and trying hard to catch up was not helping my situation either. If I would have known it was acceptable to learn at my own pace, maybe I could have enjoyed reading just a bit more. If that was the case, maybe I could have learned to succeed in reading a little earlier in life than I did. Overall, this book can help readers succeed by showing them each individual learns to read at different pace/set ups from one another. 

Allclair, Dr. A. (2022, July 27). Dr. Annie’s bookshelf. A Walk in the Words. https://dranniesbookshelf.com/books/a-walk-in-the-words/ 

Where Oliver Fits by: Cale Atkinson

Oliver is a puzzle piece, trying to be part of something big. When he is rejected for not being the right puzzle piece, he changes his shape and color to try to fit in with the puzzle. Oliver soon realizes that he is not happy trying to be someone he is not, so he continues his journey to find where he fits in. This book offers personal growth because it shows young individuals that everyone is different, and fits in where they are suppose to. There is a place for everyone and while it may not seem like it, we are all a part of something big in our own way.

This book can teach students to respect everyone for being themselves, that every individual is made to be different. This can include looks, styles, behaviors, likes, dislikes, sports, clubs, and so on! As readers, this book can help with comprehension and understanding the context by providing the chance for students to relate to the characters. It is hard to find your place, but everything falls into place by being yourself. In short, this story provides young students with the chance to learn that it is okay to be themselves and to respect other for being themselves as well. 

Atkinson, C. (2022, January 24). Where Oliver Fits. The Prindle Institute for Ethics. https://www.prindleinstitute.org/books/where-oliver-fits/