Books share about adolescence and fitting-in

Growing up isn't easy. Everyone, young and old, wants to fit in, be liked and have friends. Children have less experience in the business of life and because of that, kids don't always make the right choices.

Your guidance and example are the best and most influential tools children have to help them grow. Books can assist in this process when the subject addresses adolescent choices, family and the dynamics of growing up.

The books reviewed below are good choices, but there are many, many more. Ask your librarian and bookseller to point you in the direction of others. Everything we can do to help children grow and keep their compass pointing in the right direction is time well spent.

Books to Borrow

The following book is available at many public libraries.

"The Hundred Dresses" by Eleanor Estes, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin, Harcourt, 96 pages

Read aloud: age 6 and older

Read yourself: age 8 and older

Wanda wears the same faded blue dress to school every day. She has no friends, but Peggy and Maddie talk to her every day to tease her with the same question, "How many dresses did you say you had hanging up in your closet?" Wanda's reply was always the same, "A hundred, all lined up."

Peggy and Maddie would roar with laughter, for it was obvious Wanda only owned one dress. They repeated the same nasty game over and over. Then, one day, Wanda didn't come to school anymore.

First published in 1944, "The Hundred Dresses" has been a classic for more than 60 years, and for good reason. Filled with multiple messages about bullying, hurt, compassion and forgiveness, this timeless and important book should be required reading.

Librarian's Choice

Library: Sutter County Library, 750 Forbes Ave., Yuba City

Library Director: Roxanna Parker

Children's Librarian: Chalese Valdez

Choices this week: "Are You Quite Polite?" by Alan Katz; "Stellaluna" by Janell Cannon; "Kiss Kiss" by Margaret Wild

Books to Buy

The following books are available at your favorite bookstores.

"Boom!" by Mark Haddon, David Fickling Books, 2010, 195 pages, $15.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 10 and older

Read yourself: age 10 — 11 and older

Jim's adolescent life isn't exactly smooth. There is the usual stuff at home, including a less-than-stellar relationship with his older sister's boyfriend and the questionable comment from his sister that his teachers are seriously thinking about sending Jim off to reform school.

To see if his sister is right, Jim and his best friend, Charlie, decide to bug the teachers' lounge to listen for any possible discussion on this. While they don't hear a peep about Jim and reform school, what they do hear are two of their teachers speaking in a bizarre, secret language.

Determined to find out what their teachers are up to leads them into a dangerous web of spying, avoiding capture, a wild trip to northern Scotland and an out-of-this-world excursion 70,000 light years away. Will they be able to get back to Earth and set things right? You'll have to read the book to find out.

Full of laughs, tension, mystery, science fiction and snippets of family, fitting-in and the trials of growing up, "Boom!" delivers in every way.

"As Simple as It Seems" by Sarah Weeks, HarperCollins, 2010, 182 pages, $15.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 8 and older

Read yourself: age 11 and older

A week before Verbie's 11th birthday, she uncovered a secret her parents had kept from her all of her life — she was adopted. Since her parents had never told her this, the news was startling. But what was more startling was to learn who her biological parents were.

As Verbie struggles with her identity, she begins to wish she could be somebody else. When a boy, Pooch, and his mom rent the house next door for the summer, Verbie sees an opportunity to change her identity entirely, and that's precisely what she does. As the summer, their friendship and events unfold, so, too, does Verbie and her journey of self-acceptance.

Warm, often funny and very believable, "As Simple as It Seems" is a touching, heartfelt novel of self-doubt, adolescence and understanding the true meaning of family and friends.

Kendal A. Rautzhan writes and lectures on children's literature. She can be reached at kendal@sunlink.net .