Poverty
Peter, orphaned, poor, and living with a crazy old man, searches for truth and deliverance in a European, fairytale-like setting. A series of seemingly unconnected people and events develops into a magical, sophisticated story. The tale is deeply layered with meaning, themes, characterization, loneliness, despair, suffering, and hope.
The style of this book is entirely different from that of most children’s books. There is a grown up element balanced with an innocent element. It is like the author assumes an intelligent, thoughtful reader willing to accept the unexplained and seemingly confusing and patiently wait for the connections to come.
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This is an awesome book that addresses an unfortunate event that most girls will experience in one way or another: verbal bullying. Peggy and Maddie fall into mistreating a girl in school and continue the pattern. The story is presented simply and realistically (and enhanced by lovely illustrations), making this topic approachable for a range of ages.
This story examines verbal bullying, fear of speaking against it, guilt over participating on any level, and having the courage to do the right, if not easy, thing. It is useful for analyzing the behaviors of others in hopes of giving our daughters the tools to avoid these situations themselves.
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In this Roald Dahl classic, poor Charlie Bucket lucks into a golden ticket and tours Willy Wonka’s amazing chocolate factory. The book is a good lesson in cause and effect. Aside from the Charlie, the other children in this book are portrayed in an unflattering way, with problems ranging from overindulgence to rudeness. Each of these children falls victim to the thing that makes him or her unpleasant (for instance, greedy Augustus Gloop falls into the chocolate river he is illicitly slurping). Goodness is rewarded, which makes it easy for us to talk about cause and effect.
These children, their parents, and their fates are over the top, but as such they provide an easy lesson for children to learn about the consequences of our actions. The book provides an entertaining platform for discussing how others see our behavior and why parents do not give children everything they ask for.
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