This article originally appeared in the March-April 2005 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Bookbasket: Working together

Stories show kids taking responsibility and cooperating to solve community problems

Ben Peterson

Problems arise in every family and community that can only be solved by people working together to help each other. In the following children’s books, the characters, when faced with a problem too difficult to handle alone, come together to make their worlds safer, happier, and more beautiful. They offer role models, not only for children, but for all of us.

The Enormous Turnip, story by Alexei Tolstoy, illustrations by Scott Goto. In this Russian folk tale, an old man struggles unsuccessfully to pull an enormous sweet turnip out of the soil. Needing help, he calls the old woman. When they aren’t able to extract the enormous turnip, they ask for help from their granddaughter, a black dog, a cat, and a mouse. Finally, with all of them pulling together, the enormous turnip comes up. In addition to teaching children the benefits of working together, this simple book for young readers also includes activities for children to practice writing, memory, and reading comprehension, as well as tips for parents to help their children become better readers. Ages five to seven. (Harcourt, Inc., 2003)

City Green, story and illustrations by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan. Marcy’s city block looks like a smile with a tooth missing since an empty building was knocked down, leaving a vacant lot filled with trash. With the help of Miss Rosa, Marcy decides something has to be done. As grumpy Old Man Hammer scoffs, Marcy and her neighbors work together to transform the vacant lot into a garden: renting the lot from the city, cleaning out the trash, building a fence, and planting seeds. Finally, even Old Man Hammer contributes, helping the others create a bountiful city garden. DiSalvo-Ryan’s story of neighbors working together to make their neighborhood more beautiful includes instructions for cleaning up a lot and creating a community garden. DiSalvo-Ryan donates some of the royalties from the book to the American Community Gardening Associ-ation. Ages five to seven. (Murrow Junior Books, 1994)

A Castle on Viola Street, story by Dy-Anne DiSalvo. Andy’s family always has just enough to go around, but his father promises one day things will be better. One day an organization comes into his neighborhood to fix up the buildings that have been boarded up. Andy’s whole family volunteers to work together with several other families helping to build the houses. When they finish their first house, one of the neighbors, the Trans family, moves into the home and throws a potluck for everyone. The next spring, Andy’s family learns that the next house the community builds will be for them. DiSalvo includes a letter from Millard Fuller, founder and president of Habitat for Humanity, a group like the one in the story, which works with people to help build houses. Ages five to seven. (Harper Collins Publishers, 2001)

Swimmy, story and illustrations by Leo Lionni. Swimmy lives in the corner of the sea, one black fish in a school of red fish. One day a tuna gulps up all of the red fish, leaving only Swimmy. Sad and lonely, he explores the marvels of the sea until he finds a school of fish like his old one. They’re hiding in some rocks, afraid of the big fish. Swimmy devises an imaginative plan for them to work collectively so that they can safely explore the sea. Leonni’s wonderful illustrations of sea life made this book one of the four Caldecott Honor books he wrote and illustrated during his prolific career. Ages four to six. (Alfred A. Knopf, 1963)

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq, story and illustrations by Jeanette Winter. Alia Muhammed Baker is the librarian of Basra, a port city in sandswept Iraq. Her library has always been a meeting place for those who love books, but is now a place of worry about the approaching war. Though the governor denies her request to move the books to a safe place, Alia decides something must be done and asks for the help of her friend, Anis Muhammed. With him, his brothers, and his neighbors, Alia is able to move the books out of the library to a safe place before the library is burned to the ground. Now, thanks to the help of Alia and her friends, the books (all 30,000 of them) are safe with the librarian of Basra as she dreams of peace and a new library. Ages five through nine. (Harcourt Inc., 2004)

Music, Music for Everyone, story and illustrations by Vera B. Williams. In this sequel to Williams’ Caldecott Honor Book, A Chair for My Mother, the jar that Rosa’s family filled with change to buy the chair now lies empty. Rosa’s grandmother has fallen ill, so all the family’s money is used to take care of her, leaving none left to save. Knowing how playing her accordion lifts her grandmother’s spirits, Rosa comes up with a plan that will help raise some money while spending time with her grandmother. With three of her friends, she starts the Oak Street Band. After practicing together in her grandmother’s room, they get their first money-making show. In this book as in her others, William’s succeeds in showing how a strong family and caring friends can work together to make things better in times of need. Ages five through nine. (Greenwillow Books, 1984)

¡Si, Se Puede!: Janitor Strike in L.A., story by Diana Cohn and illustrations by Francisco Delgado. Carlitos’ mother is a janitor who works nights in L.A.’s tall glass office buildings. Because the wages are so low that she is forced to spend weekends cleaning houses to have the money to take care of Carlitos and his grandmother, she decides to join the janitors’ strike for higher wages. From listening to her, reading the newspaper, and talking to his teacher at school, Carlitos learns about the history of strikes, unions, and the people who are coming to support his mother. Carlitos decides he too wants to do something and, with his classmates, paints signs. Carlitos is proudest of his which says, “I love my Mama! She is a janitor!” Cohn’s bilingual story (English and Spanish are on each page) introduces children to the concept of unions and the history of strikes where men and women have successfully come together to fight for adequate wages. Ages five through nine. (Cinco Puntos Press, 2002)

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