Uplifting Books
Recommended by Education
for Life teachers
Here is a list of our favorite books
that we enjoy, and they are uplifting, too! Some of these are
for sale from Living
Wisdom Schools.
PICTURE
BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG AND YOUNG AT HEART
Baylor, Byrd. Hawk, I'm in Charge of Celebrations.
illus. by Peter Parnall. Celebrating the cycles of nature and
the joy and mystery of all life.
Berger, Barbara H. The Donkey's Dream . A
beautiful version of the Christmas story.
Bunting, Eve. The Mother's Day Mice . The
joy of giving from the heart.
Cannon, Janell. Stellaluna. We're all different
and yet we're all alike. The bat, Stellaluna, learns to
be himself.
Cooney, Barbara. Miss Rumphius. The adventures
of Miss Rumphius, whose grandfather taught her to "...do
something to make the world more beautiful."
Fyleman, Rose. A Fairy Went A-Marketing.
illus. by A quiet story about a fairy who collects treasures of
nature and them gives them away and sets them free. Spectacular
illustrations.
Goble, Paul. I Sing for the Animals. "All
things in nature reflect their creator."
Hodges, Margaret. Brother Francis and the Friendly
Beasts. One of the most beautiful, reverent versions of the
St. Francis story for children.
Hodges, Margaret. The Golden Deer. illustrated
by Daniel San Souci. A majestic version of one of the Buddhist
Jataka tales.
Loretan, Syvia. Bob the Snowman. Truth on
many levels: Bob, the snowman, is reincarnated through the water
cycle! Touching.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Through Grandpa's Eyes.
McCully, Emily. Crossing the New Bridge .
Who is really happy in this world?
Reed-Jones, Carol. The Tree in the Ancient Forest.
The interdependence of plant and animal life in an old-growth
forest is the theme, but it's a beautifully illustrated free verse.
Roth, Roger. The Sign Painter's Dream. Clarence
learns the joy of giving from the apple lady and George Washington's
ghost!
Ryan, Pam Munoz. One Hundred Is a Family.
Steptoe, John. The Story of Jumping Mouse.
Varley, Susan. Badger's Parting Gifts. Badger's
friends are sad that he died, but realize he left them with beautiful
memories of his friendship.
Ward, Sally. What Goes Around Comes. Around.
? visits her slightly wacky grandmother who has little money.
But she is rich in spirit and generous to her many friends.
BOOKS FOR BEGINNING READERS
Dalgliesh, Alice. The Courage of Sarah Noble.
Lobel, Arnold. Days with Frog and Toad, Frog
and Toad are Friends. illustrated by Sucie Stevenson. Endearing
episodes from the lives of two close friends.
Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge and the Happy
Cat, Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble. Touching stories about
Mudge, the dog who likes cats, and his good-hearted owners, Henry
and his parents.
BOOKS FOR MIDDLE READERS
(Ages 9-12)
Burch, Robert. Queenie Peavy.
Queeney stands out as a troublemaker in school, but as we learn
more about her family, we learn to sympathize with her.
Byars, Betsy. The Blossoms and the
Green Vulture Lady. (one in the Not Just Anybody family series)
Friendship can cross barriers of age and sex. Junior becomes friends
with the homeless "vulture lady" whom they once dismissed
as mad. Byars has a great sense of humor.
Caudill, Rebecca. A Certain Small
Shepherd. Christmas is real in Appalachia.
Coatsworth, Elizabeth. The Cat Who
Went to Heaven. . Coville, Bruce. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon
Hatcher. A matchless read-aloud, this story combines the ever-popular
dragon theme with a realistic contemporary story. You won't be
able to read it just once.
Furlong, Monica. Wise Child. The
ever popular theme of the orphaned child who doesn't fit in, Wise
Child finds her true calling apprenticing with Juniper, the village
healer. A single woman, living alone, she arouses suspicion in
these days and times, but lives a simple life in tune with
nature and honoring God behind and within nature. This book rates
number one with girls from ten years old to adults; maybe we all
cherish some dream of a lifetime as a herbal healer.
Gardiner, John. Stone Fox. Although
a short book, this one is definitely not for the primary crowd.
There won't be a dry eye if you read it aloud. Willie's wonderful
dog gives his heart and strength to Willie's courageous dream
to save the family farm.
Gellman, Mark. How Do You Spell God?
The best book on world religions. Written for kids, but great
for adults too. Gellman and his co-author convey for the metaphysical
meaning behind the superficial practices of the different religions
and conveys deep reverence for all kinds of spirituality.
George, Jean. Julie of the Wolves.
A classic of nature-fiction, this novel deserves its fame. Julie
lives on the tundra and is accepted into pack of wolves. A great
way to teach about these wonderful mammals. Be aware that
it's a better silent read, it's about sixth-grade level, and has
a subtle attempted rape scene.
Hoover, H.M., This Time of Darkness.
A great first science-fiction for kids. A girl and a boy believe
Nayor, Shiloh. A Newberry winning
story about a boy and the abused dog he saves. Right and wrong,
truth and falsehood, and compassion are all themes of this story.
O'Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue
Dolphins.
Price, Joan. Truth is a Bright Star.
The Hopi boy Loma is kidnapped and sold to a trapper. How he wins
the respect and affection of his owner and gains his freedom is
inspiring.
Rawls, Wilson. Summer of the Monkeys.
A boy in the Ozarks spends his summer trying to catch some monkeys
that have escaped from a circus train. Full of humor and touching
family values.
Speare, Elizabeth George. The
Sign of the Beaver.
BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS
(Ages 12-15)
Engdahl, Sylvia. Enchantress from
the Stars. The heroine, actually a member of an advanced race
that travels from planet to planet to aid other cultures in their
evolution, is mistaken for an enchantress by a non-industrial
culture. An astounding conception of the evolution of consciousness.
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Bronze
Bow.
Voight, Cynthia. Jackaroo. A fantasy,
medieval adventure all in one. This wonderful long novel is loved
by boys and girls alike who love reading and who love the fantasy
genre. Best of all, it features a non-sterotypical female protagonist.
Solitary Blue Being the child
of divorce parents usually causes internal conflicts. Learning
to live within a complicated life situation and explore one's
own strengths is victory.
Wolff, Virginia. Probably Still Nick
Swansen. Nick is an ordinary high school boy, with ordinary
thoughts about school, girls, and life. But as he gets a date
and plans his night at the prom we begin to understand that he
is learning disabled; seeing the world from his point of view
is poignant.
BOOKS FOR TEEN AND ADULT READERS
Brown, Tom, Jr. The Tracker. Nonfiction,
this book recounts Tom Brown's story of growing up in the New
Jersey pine barrens with his friend whose Apache grandfather taught
them survival skills beyond our imagining. The Vision.
The Tracker describes the outward training; this book gives
us the spiritual background and the profound transcendental experiences
living at one with the earth brought these two boys.
Carter, Forest. The Education of Little
Tree. Little Tree's Cherokee grandparents adopt him
and welcome him into their mountain home and love. He learns that
he has a body as well as a body, but the white social workers
do not understand the great gifts he has been given.
Korea, Theodora. Ishi - Last of His
Tribe.Ishi walked out of the forest into Oroville, California
in 1915. The last Indian left of his tribe fortunately met Kroeber's
husband, an expert on California Indians, learned to communicate,
and shared his riveting story.
Moody, Ralph. Little Britches.
Growing up on the prairie, Little Britches desires above all else,
a horse. We see how the deep integrity of his parents only gets
stronger for the hardships they endure. Amusing, fun, sad, and
outrageous incidents abound, just like real life. A bit sexist
in that the sister has to watch most of the fun, the book only
reflects the times it portrays. The love and character of this
family will endear them to every reader.
Muggeridge, Malcolm. Something Beautiful
for God - Mother Theresa of Calcutta.The power of Mother Theresa
transforms those open to her message.
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