60+ Picture Books Featuring Resilient, Problem Solvers

"resilience is the ability to cope with adversity and come back or rebound from extreme hardships or events (Benard 2004; Petty 2009; Ginsburg 2006)." from here.

Strong Families/Strong Traditions: Building Resilience from and with Elders

1.    Bridges, Shirin Yim. (2013). Ruby's Wish. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

2.    Campbell, Nicola I. (2017). A Day with Yayah. Illustrated by Julie Flett. Vancouver, BC: Tradewind Books.

3.    Castaneda, Omar S. (1995). Abuela’s Weave. Illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez. New York: Lee and Low Books.

4.    Cheng, Andrea. (2003). Grandfather Counts. Illustrated by Ange Zheng. New York: Lee and Low Books.

5.    Crews, Donald. (1998). Bigmama’s. New York: Greenwillow.

6.    de la Peña, Matt. (2015). Last Stop on Market Street. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

7.    Dorros, Arthur. (1997). Abuela. New York: Puffin.

8.    Flett, Julie. (2014). Wild Berries. Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books.

9.    Erdrich, Louise. (1996). Grandmother’s Pigeon. Illustrated by Jim La Marche. New York: Hyperion Books.

10.Greenfield, Eloise.(1996). Grandpa’s Face. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York: Puffin Books.

11. Krishnaswami, Uma. (2016). Chachaji's Cup. Illustrated by Soumya Sitaraman. New York: Lee and Low Books.

12.Mason, Margaret. (2015). These Hands. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.

13.McFarlane, Shirley. (2016). Waiting for the Whales. Illustrated by Ron Lightburn. Vancouver, BC: Orca Book Publishers.

14. Mora, Pat. (1994). Pablo’s Tree. Illustrated by Cecily Lang. New York: Lee and Low Books.

15. Polacco, Patricia. (1997). Thunder Cake. New York: Puffin Books.

16. Ryan, DyAnne DiSalvo. (2000). Grandpa’s Corner Store. New York: HarperCollins.

17. Shasha, Mark. (2017). Night of the Moonjellies. Purple House Press.

18. Stolz, Mary. (1990). Storm in the Night. Illustrated by Pat Cummings. New York: HarperCollins.

19. Velasquez, Eric. (2004). Grandma’s Records. New York: Bloomsbury.

Resilience Comes from Being in the Present Moment, From Being Curious

1.    Aman, Kimiko. (2017).  The Fox Wish. Illustrated by Komako Sakai. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

2.    McGhee, Holly M. (2017). Come With Me. Illustrated by Pascal Lemaître. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

3.    Morstad, Julie. (2016). Today. Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books.

4.    Woodward, Carolyn. (2011). Singing Away the Dark. Illustrated by Julie Morstad. Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books.

from Trombone Shorty. Illustration by Bryan Collier.

People Who Show Resilience

1.    Andrews, Troy. (2015). Trombone Shorty. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.

2.    Clinton, Chelsea. (2017). She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World. Illustrated by Alexander Boiger. New York: Philomel Books.

3.    Giovanni, Nikki. (2007). Rosa. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Square Fish.

4.    Heelan, Jamee Riggio. (2002). Can You Hear a Rainbow? The Story of a Deaf Boy Named Chris. Illustrated by Nicola Simmonds. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.

5.    Krull, Kathleen.(2003).  Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.

6.    Markel, Michelle. (2013). Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909.  Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. New York: Balzer & Bray.

7.    Miki, Roy & Slavia Miki (2014). Dolphin SOS. Illustrated by Julie Flett. Vancouver, BC: Tradewind Books.

8.    Nelson, Kadir. (2013). Nelson Mandela. New York: Katherine Tegen Books.

9.    Novesky, Amy. (2015). Me, Frida. Illustrated by David Diaz. New York: Harry N. Abrams.

10.Otheguy, Emma (2017). Martí's Song for Freedom/Martí y sus versos por la libertad. Illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. New York: Lee & Low Books.

11.Rockwell, Anne. (2002). Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth. Illustrated by R, Gregory Christie.

12.Thompson, Laurie Ann. (2015). Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. Illustrated by Sean Qualls. New York: Schwartz & Wade.

13.Tonatiuh, Duncan. (2014). Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. New York: Harry N. Abrams.

14.Warren, Sarah. (2012). Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers. Illustrated by Robert Casilla. New York: Two Lions.

15.Winter, Jonah. (2009). Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx / La juez que crecio en el Bronx. Illustrated by Edel Rodriguez. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Characters Who Show Resilience

1.    Asch, Frank. (2014). Moondance. New York: Aladdin.

2.    Argueta, Jorge. (2007). Alfredito Flies Home. Illustrated by Luis Garay. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.

3.    Ashley, Bryan. (1992). Cleversticks. Illustrated by Derek Brazell. New York: HarperCollins.

4.    Barber, Barbara E. (2013). Allie's Basketball Dream. Illustrated by Darryl Ligasan. New York: Lee and Low Books.

5.    Blabey, Aaron. (2009). Sunday Chutney. Honesdale, PA: Front Street.

6.    Buitrago, Jario. (2015). Two White Rabbits. Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.

7.    Choi, Yangsook. (2003). The Name Jar. New York: Dragonfly Books.

8.    Conway, David. (2011). Lila and the Secret of Rain. Illustrated by Jude Daly. London: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.

9.    Cornwall, Gala. (2017). Jabari Jumps. Somerset, MA: Candlewick.

10. Danticat, Edwidge. (2015). Mama's Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation. Illustrated by Leslie Staub. New York: Dial.

11. Faruqi, Reem. (2015). Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story. Illustrated by Lea Lyon. Thomaston, ME: Tilbury House Publishers.

12. Jeffers, Oliver. (2011). Stuck. New York: Philomel Books.

13.Jeffers, Oliver. (2014). How to Catch a Star. New York: Philomel Books.

14. Lionni, Leo. (1975). Tico and the Golden Wings. New York: Knopf.

15. Pett, Mark. (2014). The Girl and the Bicycle.  New York: Simon and Schuster.

16. Ross, Peggy. (2013). Say Something. Illustrated by Lea Lyon. Thomaston, ME: Tilbury House Publishers.

17. Spires, Ashley. (2017). The Thing Lou Couldn't Do. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.

18. Vandever, Daniel W. (2017). Fall in Line, Holden! Flagstaff, AZ: Salina Bookshelf.  

19. Wallace, Ian. (2005). Boy of the Deeps. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.

20. Williams, Laura. (2017). The Can Man. Illustrated by Craig Orback. New York: Lee & Low Books.

 

from Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds.

Poetry 

1.    Alarcón, Francisco. (2017). Family Poems for Every Day of the Week/Poemas familiares para cada día de la semana. Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez. New York: Lee & Low Books.

2.    Argueta, Jorge. (2016). Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds. Illustrated by Alfonso Ruano. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.

3.    Frank, John. (2014). Lend a Hand: Poems about Giving. Illustrated by London Ladd. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Cited

• Benard, B. 2004. Peer programs: A major strategy for fostering resiliency in kids. The Peer Facilitator Quarterly, 9 (3).
• Ginsburg, K. 2006. A Parent’s Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens. New York: American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Petty, K. 2009. Deployment: Strategies for Working With Kids in Military Families. Minneapolis, MN: Redleaf Press.