Children of the 21st century are growing up in a complex world, confronted not only with traditional hardships, such as poverty, neglect/abuse, and health related issues (today's challenges including autism, ADHD, syndromes, allergies, and obesity), but also societal pressure to grow up too quickly, achieve more readily, (without benefit of a "child-friendly" environment), and behave in an almost robotic fashion. See The Real 21st Century Problem.
School Librarians are called to assist children with the emotional trauma and negative churnings wrought by both traditional and modern-day hardship. Librarians do so by means of reading guidance practices which, to use the words of Judy Blume, "save lives by handing one right book at the right time to a kid in need." In our profession, this practice is known as bibliotherapy, defined by the American Library Association as "guidance in the solution of personal problems through directed reading." This definition assumes more than just readers' advisory services, i.e. which werewolf book is best; instead, the librarian intuits and understands a child reader's particular difficulty, introducing the child to story characters mirroring the same problem or disturbance. In three stages, a psychological catharsis is hopefully accomplished: 1) identification with the character; 2) emotional release, a detachment or "breaking away" from the hardship itself (the student becomes more than the problem); and 3) a resulting emotional freeing, which fosters insight as to possible solutions to the drawback, either those found within the text of the book itself via the protagonist's proactivity, or those spawned as the character's plight is digested by the child reader. In other words, in a world in which role models are hard to come by, the child is exposed to someone (on the written page) who has both encountered the difficulty and also ethically forged a way around or through it.
Does bibliotherapy work? Intrinsically, each practicing professional librarian knows it certainly, at the very least, helps the child reader to cope, and, in all likelihood, is a healing catalyst (of differing degrees dependent on the individual). Extrinsically, professional associations and scholars laud the benefits of the practice. The Association of Bibliotherapy and Applied Literature relates, "Literature is an adaptive human behaviour for responding to and coping with change." Sullivan and Strong (2002) state: "Literary sources can assist with the resolution of complex problems." And, in a study featured by the International Federation of Library Associations, Arulanantham (2013) determined, "Literary sources can assist with resolution of complex problems."
Accordingly, here at ETSU, our graduate level school library media students are asked to complete children's book annotations which address this professional role. For each child or young adult work of literature read, the student must determine how it meets the needs and interest of children. For example, after reading Virginia Hamilton's The Planet of Junior Brown, a student wrote:
The Planet of Junior Brown explores an issue, several issues, that are too commonly ignored by society and how these can impact a certain race, economic group or family unit. Hamilton doesn't promote or glorify obesity, mental illness, poverty and homelessness, but informs the readers of the plight of a particular group experiencing such struggles. I believe readers can find a connection by sympathizing with any of the characters that may have the same attributes as the reader and/or a member of his family. One is able to develop empathy towards Junior and Cody due to the harshness of their environment. Children or adolescents may derive characters as mentors from analyzing the character's personal triumphs and struggles, comparing them with their own triumphs and struggles. I think it is important for every young person to have a heroic figure in their life whether it is a parent, person, or fictitious character, so they can see that through adversity success is possible. Children need to understand despite their physical or mental limitations they are more than just that condition and serve a greater purpose in society, also coming to the realization one is greater than any limitation placed upon them.
Obviously, this student is now ready to enter a school library with a broad awareness as to the value and importance of sharing significant works of children's literature, prepared to 1) heed the emotional needs of her student; 2) understand the means by which specially selected literature may provide an opportunity for healing; and 3) match the right book to a kid in need at just the right time!
To learn more about bibliotherapy, and for listings of children's literature lending itself thereto, visit:
American Library Association - Bibliotherapy
Resource List for Helping Children in Times of Trouble