The Story Cure. Ella Berthoud

Klassen’s lovely gouache illustrations, the dark makes its presence felt in a solid matt black. By the end, we’re seeing the dark as a something too, but, from now on, a friendly something.

      For children on the verge of reading, or now reading themselves, introduce Jill Tomlinson’s charming Plop, the baby barn owl with ‘knackety’ knees in The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark. Plop has decided that he’s too afraid of the dark to be nocturnal. ‘You can’t be afraid of the dark,’ says his mummy. ‘Owls are never afraid of the dark.’ ‘This one is,’ points out Plop. His mother decides to send Plop out each day with the special mission of finding something out about the dark. Only then should he make up his mind, she says. So Plop tumbles out of the nest each day and meets a succession of people and animals who each tell him something about darkness from their point of view. From the little boy who’s looking forward to fireworks, he learns that the dark is ‘exciting’. From the old lady who wants to forget her wrinkles, the dark is ‘kind’. From the girl anticipating a visit from Father Christmas, the dark is ‘necessary’. One by one, the arguments add up to a compelling case. We defy any child not to see darkness in a positive light, so to speak, by the end.

      SEE ALSO: anxiety • bed, fear of what’s under the • nightmares • worrying

       dating

       A Ring of Endless Light MADELEINE L’ENGLE

      For wisdom on how to look after yourself in the dating game, give teens the fourth novel in Madeleine l’Engle’s series about the Austin family.³ Vicky is nearly sixteen when, over the course of a summer at her grandparents’ New England holiday home, she dates three very different boys. There’s Leo, the boy next door, who is vulnerable, caring and puppyish. Then there’s the splashy, reckless Zachary, who gives her a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach – but drives too fast and takes her up in a plane without a licence. Lastly there’s Adam, who works with dolphins. Vicky handles her dates with impressive delicacy, experiencing exhilaration with Zachary, intellectual and spiritual understanding with Adam, and emotional intimacy with Leo when he tragically loses his father. Teenagers date differently now to when this story is set, but the need to test out different sorts of partners – without causing offence – remains the same. Young readers will find answers to such issues as how to say no when you need to; who you can trust; and how to work out which person, if any, you really like.

      SEE ALSO: choice, spoilt for • dumped, being • first kiss • first love • virginity, loss of

daydreaming, being accused of

       Charlotte Sometimes PENELOPE FARMER

      Once upon a time, dreamy types caught gazing out the window were rapped over the knuckles and written off as fantasists at best and woolgatherers at worst. Happily, psychologists now recognise daydreaming for the creative pursuit it is. In fact, experts think daydreaming might be the neurological equivalent of filing – and that daydreaming children are simply those with a lot to process. Thirteen-year-old Charlotte’s tendency to let her mind drift in the haunting Charlotte Sometimes can certainly be explained in this way. After her first night in her new boarding school, Charlotte wakes up to find she’s travelled back in time. She’s still at the same school, but she’s now a girl called Clare and the year is 1918. Twenty-four hours later, she wakes up as Charlotte again. Charlotte and Clare – both motherless, both with a younger sister – spend alternate days as each other with, at first, no one noticing but them.

      Life quickly becomes very challenging. When Clare is set homework in 1918, it’s Charlotte who has to hand it in the next day; and when Charlotte agrees to be Susannah’s best friend in 1963, she must find a way to update Clare. As the horrors of the First World War invade both their lives, the day-to-day stresses mount. Soon teachers and friends are complaining that Charlotte’s attention always seems to be elsewhere – and there’s only the reader to empathise. Full of the small details that children notice – such as Charlotte’s first, surprised sight of freckled legs on one of her roommates; or the tired ‘stretched’ feeling she gets in her eyes when she’s overwhelmed – this story will show the daydreamer in your midst that time staring into space is time well spent.⁴

CURE FOR GROWN-UPS

Mr Daydream ROGER HARGREAVES

      If you’re unconvinced, read how Jack is whisked off by the cloud-shaped Mr Daydream during class and taken on a quick world tour. They go to Africa, Australia, the North Pole and the Wild West before Jack is snapped back to reality by the sound of the teacher calling his name. Who wouldn’t rather travel to those places than be in a classroom?

      SEE ALSO: about, what’s it all? • adventure, needing an • bored, being • short attention span

       deafness

      In the early years, picture books with strong, bold illustrations, featuring characters with expressive faces – allowing kids to ‘see’ the story, if not hear it – are imperative. Once a child is reading themselves, they’ll need the company of others who know what it’s like to deal with prejudice, hearing aids and trying to lip-read the expressionless Mr Spock on TV.⁵

      THE TEN BEST BOOKS FOR DEAF KIDS

       Voices in the Park ANTHONY BROWNE

       Pumpkin Soup HELEN COOPER

       Freddie and the Fairy JULIA DONALDSON, ILLUSTRATED BY KAREN GEORGE

       The Deaf Musicians PETE SEEGER AND PAUL DUBOIS JACOBS, ILLUSTRATED BY R GREGORY CHRISTIE

       The Time It Took Tom STEPHEN TUCKER, ILLUSTRATED BY NICK SHARRATT

       El Deafo CECE BELL

       Mundo and the Weather-child JOYCE DUNBAR

       Whisper CHRISSIE KEIGHERY

       Feathers JACQUELINE WOODSON

       Miss Spitfire SARAH MILLER

      SEE ALSO: different, feeling • friends, finding it hard to make • heard, not feeling • understood, not being

       death, fear of