Resources
Bibliography for Teachers
Rubin, Zick. Children's Friendships. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980.
This is a must read if you are interested in how friendships develop throughout the early childhood years. It is full of vignettes from classroom environments that the author seeks to explain from a psychological standpoint.
Smollar, Jaqueline, and James Youniss. "Social Development Through Friendship." In Peer Relationships and Social Skills in Childhood. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1982.
This is a published empirical study on how children from early childhood to adolescence qualify their own friendships. It gives a window into the psyche of children in a way that seeks to generalize experiences across a developmental spectrum.
Szalavitz, Maia, and Bruce D. Perry. Born for Love: Why Empathy is Essential - and Endangered. New York: Harper Collins, 2010.
The co-authors of this book are a neuroscientist and a psychiatrist seeking to combine their perspectives on the nature and nurture of empathy. It seems as if their efforts seek to create a more robust understanding of how empathy is cultivated. They alternate between describing the physical chemistry involved in developing empathy from the very beginning of life and case studies of individuals who have non-normative developments of empathy.
Zunshine, Lisa. Why We Read Fiction: Theory of Mind and the Novel. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2006.
Zunshine's book applies the cognitive science concept of "Theory of Mind" to the processes involved in reading and enjoying novels. She discusses the skill of mind-reading as integral to the understanding of a fiction story that depicts human interaction. It is argued that humans seek to attribute intention to another human's actions and words, and it is the challenge of reading another's mind to determine their intentions that makes reading novels a pleasurable experience. She also discusses Simon Baron-Cohen's work on the possible absence of mind-reading among autistic individuals.
Read Aloud Selections
(Descriptions of these selections are included in the strategies portion of this unit.)
Henkes, Kevin. A Weekend with Wendell. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1986.
—. Chester's Way. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1988.
—. Chrysanthemum. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1991.
—. Jessica. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1989.
—. Wemberly Worried. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2000.
Howe, James. Houndsley and Catina. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2006.
—. Houndsley and Catina and the Birthday Surprise. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2006.
—. Houndsley and Catina Plink and Plunk. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2009.
Lobel, Arnold. Days with Frog and Toad. New York: Harper & Row, 1979.
—. Frog and Toad are Friends. Columbus, Ohio: Atlas Editions, Inc., 1970.
—. Frog and Toad Together. New York, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1971.
Willems, Mo. Elephants Cannot Dance! (New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2009)
—. I am Going! New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2010.
—. My Friend is Sad. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2007.
—. Should I Share My Ice Cream? New York: Hyperion Press for Children, 2011.
—. Watch Me Throw the Ball! New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2009.
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