Growing Up and Growing Older: Books for Young Readers

Early children's literature plays a major role in the development of attitudes. This annotated bibliography is a compilation of early children's literature that contains positive portrayals of elders. Selected for the bibliography were books that portray aging as a natural and lifelong process of growing and developing, present similarities between young and old, show young and old enjoying each other and learning from each other, and view older adults as valuable and contributing members of society. The annotated bibliography contains 95 current titles. It also pinpoints 14 favorite books and lists 9 now out-of-print favorites. Includes a literature analysis form for promoting positive attitudes about aging with young children. (NKA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Growing Up and Growing Older: Books for Young Readers An Annotated Bibliography of Nonageist Literature for Preschool-Primary by Dr. Sandra L. McGuire The author would like to acknowledge The University of Tennessee Professional Development Award program for its support of this project. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as CA received from the person or organization Noriginating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. 't7:1 C/) Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BEST COPY AVAlLABLE 2 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Growing Up and Growing Older: Books for Young Readers An Annotated Bibliography of Nonageist Literature for Preschool-Primary by Dr. Sandra L. McGuire INTRODUCTION Early children's literature plays a major role in the development of attitudes. This annotated bibliography is a compilation of early children's literature that contains positive portrayals of elders. Books were selected that portray aging as a natural and lifelong process of growing and developing, present similarities between young and old, show young and old enjoying each other and learning from each other, and view older adults as valuable and contributing members of society. Books have not been included that deal extensively with death, dying and disability. These topics are not synonymous with aging. Unfortunately, there are many gaps in children's literature in relation to aging. Elder heroes, role models, workers, leaders, famous older people, planning for old age and similarities beyond young are essentially missing. When elders are portrayed they are most often in the role of a grandparent. Many portrayals of older adults are stereotypic in nature. Many children's books have no older characters in them. To assist in locating and ordering book only books-in-print have been listed. When two book prices are listed, the first price is for the hardbound edition and the second for the paperback edition. Unfortunately, many children's books quickly go out-of-print, and a short booklist of some favorite OOPS (out-of-print stories) is given. We need to work with authors and publishers to keep excellent stories, such as those on the OOPS list, in print. All books should be reviewed for appropriateness prior to use. If the reading level of a book is beyond that of the child you can "talk through" the story. Having an elder read the book to the child can be a great experience. Who better to talk about growing up and growing older than an elder. Whether the children read the books themselves, or have the books read to them, the stories can stimulate interesting discussions. Use the books to help children think in terms of "lifespan" activities and see their "elder within".* It is hoped that both adults and children will enjoy the books listed, and that the books will make a significant contribution to promoting positive attitudes about aging with children. Some of the author's favorite in print books are given at the end of the booklist. Aging education units have to accompany the booklist are available through the National Academy for Teaching and Learning About Aging (NATLA) at the University of North Texas (http://www.unt.edu/natla). A form to use for analyzing children's books for ageism is included at the back of the booklist. Please contact the author: Dr. Sandra L. McGuire, Associate Professor, College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, phone: (865) 974-7589 or 966-8832 with questions. *Elder within is a term used by Ken Dychtwald and Joe Fowler in their book Age Wave (1990). New York: Bantam Books.