Recommended books, films and websites for children and young people
Tell us what book or film you love, and you could win a £10 prize
We are interested in hearing from children and young people who are livng with relatives as to what books, films, music or websites you have found a help or comfort. A selection of review will be posted on this webpage - and authors will be credited.
We are offering a prize of a £10 book/DVD/music token to the best review submitted by a young people aged under 18. So get writing.
Deadline: 25th October, please send reviews to droth@frg.org.uk
The following books are recommended for children and young people.
Thursday's Child by Jeanne Whitmee
Review: Young dual heritage girl (Fleur - Jamaican/White English) is raised by grandparents (mixed race couple) in Hackney after her father died of drug overdose and mother abandons her. After a happy childhood her grandparents die while she is in her mid teens and following a racist attack she sets off to find her mother who lives in rural middle-class England. Her mother is now apparently happily married to a successful businessman who does not know about Fleur's existence. After a series of complications, mother and daughter are reunited and form a new family unit with the mother's second daughter from her marriage, the philandering, bullying husband is left to his own devices (and bankrupted into the bargain) and our heroine has become a successful businesswoman and is on the verge of marrying a young journalist. Meanwhile Fleur's mother has changed from a political doormat into a local politician actively involved in working with lone parents and domestic violence victims.
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, Anita Jeram (Illustrator)
Review: Sometimes when you love someone very, very much, you want to tell them how great your feelings are. But, as Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare discover, love is not an easy thing to measure. This is a mini-sized gift edition of Sam McBratney's tale.
That's What Grandparents Are For by Arlene S. Uslander, Freddie Levin
Review: What a delightful book! The author and illustrator have combined their talents to create a truly enjoyable story. I read this book a few times and found it to be heartwarming and creatively written to capture the love that exists between grandparents and their grandchildren. The verses were both humorous nad touching; the illustrations were beautiful.
A Long way from Chicago (Dial 1998) by Richard Peck
Review: What a fun read! Peck presents 8 short tales which span several summers in rural Illinois during the Depression, when two kids make annual visits to their eccentric Grandmother. Narrated by the boy (two years older than his sister), these outrageous yarns create a wonderful atmosphere of wacky individualism and family bonding.
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
The follow on from A Long way from Chicago. It would be hard to find a literary granny as feisty, resourceful and fearless of authority as Grandma. Things are never dull when she stirs her stumps to create a mild uproar in that pompous little town. Her nefarious schemes range from a one-woman crime wave to appointing herself Champion of the helpless and downtrodden. Don't get on the wrong side of Mrs. Dowdel--if you value your reputation or your hide! Grandma remains undaunted and unflappable through bizarre but comical events. Peck's tongue-in cheek humor will bring many a chuckle as you are drawn into her slightly-shady activities. This book will delight kids of all ages--a winner, perfect for summer reading.
Clare Street by Nora Dugon
Review: In this gripping sequel to the highly successful 'Mrs Kneebone and Me', Kelly Ryan and her friends, the assorted residents of Clare Street, come to terms with further changes in their lives. Kelly's seventeenth year brings her first experience of love, with the debonair Nicholas Watson, and her first taste of a settled existence, after a life spent dragged around communes and festivales by her hippie mother. And the delightfully eccentric Mrs Kneebone has taken off in a battered old car to discover herself... This delightful old lady, a single mother, a runaway teenager and a lost doll play their part in this warm-hearted and entertaining story.
Useful links
http://nchacti01.uuhost.uk.uu.net/carelaw
www.bblic.com is the first website of its kind to focus on helping young children overcome this increasingly widespread problem of bullying. In merging an interactive games-type environment with exceptional and accessible content [for example much of the content is voiced], young people are reacting to the bbclic with real enthusiasm. The site is open to both victims of bullying as well as bullies and allows those affected to learn from other people's experiences and draw from them. www.bbclic.com provides a safe, supportive environment where young people can begin to understand more about their situation and realise they are not alone.
www.talktofrank.com National Drugs Helpline.
www.bubblycrew.org.uk Young people from this inner-city project share their story and let you watch their "Flash" movies about what it's like to have to care for those you love.
www.there4me.com Confidential online advice for teenagers.
www.mentors.org.uk - Big Brothers & Sisters recruits, screens and matches suitable adult volunteer mentors to children and young people aged 6-16 from lone parent families. The result is a two-way friendship which both mentor and mentee enjoy and benefit from.
