Children's Literature Dealing with 
Conflict Resolution &  Diversity

Picture Books
Songs and Music

Chapter Books

• AK by Peter Dickinson. Dell, New York:1990. Paul Kagomi is a child Guerrilla, orphaned by war in Africa and schooled in bloodshed, who places his trust in his AK, his gun. His village was destroyed a long time ago and his only family is his "uncle" Michael, the leader of the commando unit. After a peace treaty Michael becomes a member in the new government. Paul buries his AK and tries to adjust to civilian life. A military coup sends the nation back into a war where children are Warriors.
  

• Because of Lozo Brown by Larry King. Viking Vestrel, New York:1988. A new child moves into the neighborhood and the neighboring child is afraid to play with him due to preconceived notions about what the new child will be like. Eventually they realize that they have a lot in common and become friends.
  
• Blubber (in Spanish La Ballena) by Judy Blume. Bradbury Press: 1974. Jill goes along with the rest of her fifth grade class in tormenting a classmate of theirs. The tables turn then Jill and her Asian friend become the targets of ridicule.
  
• The Chocolate War by Richard Cormier. Pantheon books: 1974.
  
• Daddy's New Baby by Judith Vigna. Niles, Ill., Albert Whitman and Company: 1982. Often a child is faced with conflict at home when a parent remarries and has a new child. This story is filled with many conflicts that the family settles peacefully.
  
• Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank 1929-1945. SCHS Classics: 1962. A young Jewish girl keeps a diary reflecting on her life in hiding in Amsterdam and the terrors of World War II.
  
• The Divorce Express by Paula Danziger. New York, Delaorte Press:1982. This story discusses the conflicts that arise between children and their families as they deal with divorce. One parent ends up moving out and the rest of the family must deal with this new adjustment. It also addresses the low self-concept that many children going through a divorce often develop.
  
• Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen. Bantom Skylark, New York: 1983. A Russian girl comes to the US and her classmates pick on her because she is from a different ethnic background. They make fun of her clothes, accent, lunch food and other things about her. She tries to fit in and for Thanksgiving everyone has to make a Pilgrim. Molly dresses hers up as a Russian peasant and explains that she is a Russian Pilgrim who has come to America for freedom, just like the Pilgrims from the pages of the history text. The class accepts Molly as they learn that Pilgrims are still coming to America, and it takes all types of Pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving. This book can also be used for appreciation of cultural diversity.
  
• Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary. Morrow Junior Books, New York: 1990. Maggie has trouble learning to write in cursive. She feels she can print and use the computer, and sees no need to learn that awful cursive writing. The teachers recognize that a learner needs to see the value of a new skill, so they write notes to her in cursive knowing that she will want to understand them. She does learn cursive and uses it to communicate with others.
  
• Nothing but the Truth by AVI. Philip Malloy is a freshman at Harrison High School. He is an average student who is looking forward to trying out for the track team. Margaret Narwin is one of the school’s English teachers. She has been teaching for many years and is liked by the students. Philip is transferred into Mrs. Narwin’s homeroom where he decides to make a pest of himself by humming along with the national anthem, breaking a school rule. He is eventually suspended. The story becomes local and national news. The teacher and student are involved in hot patriotic issues. Philip and Mrs. Narwin never meet face to fact to try and solve the problem, and both end up losers.
  
• Number the Stars by Lowis Lowry. Boston, Houghton Mifflin:1989 (Newberry award). In 1943, during Nazi occupation of Denmark, 10 year old AnneMarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
  
• The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. This is the story of two rival gangs: the greasers and the socs. The greasers constantly find themselves fighting with the socs and Ponyboy, the 14 year old greaser who narrates the story, begins to question why they fight. Even after several deaths the gangs continue their conflict. Ponyboy will still fight, to belong, yet knows that the members of the rival gangs are also beginning to question why the conflict must be settled through violence.
  
• The Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume. Scarsdale, NY, Bradbury Press: 1974. This story deals with the issue of fairness among siblings. The story helps a class recognize different view points and perceptions. There is also a sense of security in the knowledge that someone else has shared the same experiences.
  
• The Plant that Ate Dirty Socks by Nancy McArthur. New York, Avon: 1988.
  
• Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt by Lisa Campbell Ernst. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books, New York:1983. This story presents jobs that men do and jobs that women do but the men decide to make a quilt like the ladies. A tragedy occurs and they must cooperate and combine both quilts into one which wins them first place.
  
• Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers. Jamal is 11 years old and lives n the city with his mother and sister. He faces pressures from home, as well as school where he has regular confrontations with a boy named Dwayne, and is under pressure to join a gang. He eventually decides to use a gun to solve his problem with Dwayne. However, he finds that the gun brings on more trouble than it is worth when the fight ends with the death of one of the gang members and Jamal losing his best friend.
  
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. New York, Dell: 1972. Living with his younger brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher a fourth grade nothing. Fudge is always throwing temper tantrums and never gets in trouble, even when he ruins Peter's homework assignment. When Fudge walks away with Dribble, Peter's pet turtle, that's the last straw.
  
• Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic. Viking Penguin: 1994. This story, with color pictures, gives a child's perspective of the war in Bosnia-Hercegovna.
  

Picture Books

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. Athenaeum, New York: 1975. (in Spanish, Alexander y el Dia Terrible, Horrible, Espantoso, Hororoso). Alexander has an awful day. The book describes his day in a humorous manner. Frequently Alexander does not use his conflict resolution skills and this results in his feeling like the whole world is against him. It provides a springboard for discussion on alternative ways of dealing with his feelings and the conflicts that ensue.
  
• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman. New York, Dial Books: 1991. Although her classmates say that she cannot play Peter Pan in the school play because she is black and a girl, Grace discovers that she can do anything she sets her mind to.
  
• Amos and Boris by William Stein. New York, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux: 1971. Amos the mouse and Boris the whale are good friends. They have nothing in common, except that they like to help others.
  
• Angel Child, Dragon Child by Michele Maria Surat. Carnival/Raintree: 1983. In this story, a Vietnamese girl names Ut enters an American school for the first time. After a conflict with a red-haired boy, who teases her for the white pajamas she wears to school and the funny words she speaks, Ut is forced to communicate with him. They become fast friends and the red-haired boy decides to help Ut's family get the money to bring her mother to the United States by suggestion that the school put on a Vietnamese fair.
  
• Angelina's Birthday Surprise by Katherine Holabird. New York: 1989. Angelina, a young mouse, has an accident with her bicycle and ruins it. She tries to earn money for a new one, and is surprised by her friends with a bike for her birthday.
  
• The Animal's Peace Day by Jan Wahl. New York, Crown: 1970 (Outstanding illustrations). The animals gather for a peace day and dinner, and in no time, they get entangled in a quarrel. When fighting ends, they say they will try again tomorrow.
  
• The Apple War by Bernice Myers. New York, Parents Magazine Press: 1973. Two kings prepare to fight a war, but the war is postponed so they can celebrate a birthday. They have so much fun at the party the almost forget the war.
  
• Attila the Angry by Marjorie Sharmat. New York, Holiday House: 1985. Att ila the squirrel learns to "squash, stamp out and demolish" his anger at a meeting of Angry Animals Anonymous. But when is anger appropriate
  
• Bang Bang You're Dead by Louise Fitzhugh and Sandra Scoppettone. New York, Harper and Row:1969. Two groups of boys battle for possession of a hill. They mutually agree that violence is no fun, and they settle their dispute cooperatively.
  
• A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban. New York, Harper and Row: 1970. Frances the badger learns that it is better to bargain than to lose a friend.
  
• The Baseball Ballerina by Kathryn Cristaldi. Random House:1992 (I Can Read book). A baseball loving girl worries that the ballet class her mother forces her to take will ruin her reputation with the other members of the team.
  
• Be Nice to Josephine by Betty Horvath. New York, Franklin Watts: 1970. Charlie must spend the day with his cousin Josephine. He hopes his friends won't see him with a girl, but Josephine turns out to be a good sport and they have a great day.
  
• Bear Party by Rene du Bois. New York, Penguin Books: 1971. The bears in the forest have become angry with each other. A wise old bear gives them advice to solve their problems.
  
• The Bear's Picture by Manus Pinkwater. Dutton: 1984. In this fable about truth and imagination, various people interpret and critique a little bear's painting, but his own interpretation is what makes the painting special.
  
• Best Friends by Steven Kellogg. New York, Dial Books: 1986. This book is about two girls and their friendship one summer when their relationship becomes strained.
  
• Big Al by Andrew Clements. Picture Book Studio, Saxonville, MA: 1988. Big Al has an ugly physical appearance. He works very hard to develop friendships among the other fish but they tease him or are afraid of him because of his big teeth. One day the other fish are caught in a net and Big Al frees them.
  
• The Big Pile of Dirt by Eleanor Clymer. Holt, Rinehart, Winston, NY: 1968. A pile of dirt is the only place where the poor children can play. When some people want it removed, the children find a way to keep the pile of dirt.
  
• The Black Snowman by Phil Mendez. New York, Scholastic: 1989. Through the powers of a magical African Kente, a black snowman comes to life and helps young Jacob discover the beauty of his black heritage as well as his own self-worth.
  
• The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss. Random House: 1984. The conflict is over whether they should butter their bread top-side up or upside down. The two opposing camps escalate to the point where their entire populations go underground into bomb shelters waiting for the stalemate to end.
  
• Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom DeLuise. New York: Simon and Schuster: 1990. The caterpillar in this story tries to make friends with the animals around him, but they say that he is ugly and won't play with him. When he changes into a beautiful butterfly all the animals want to play with him but he does not know how to deal with his new popularity.
  
• The Children's Problem Solving Series by Elizabeth Crary. Parenting Press: Seattle, WA: 1985. Includes: I Want It; I Can't Wait; I Want to Play; My Name is Not Dummy; I'm Lost; Mommy, Don't Go.
  
• A Chocolate Moose for Dinner by Fred Gwynne. Windmill Books: 1976. This story is similar to The King Who Rained but with a different use of homonyms which depict miscommunication.
  
• Cinderella- The Untold Story by Russell Shorto. Birch Land Press, New York:1990. In this humorous version the stepsisters feel that Cinderella has given them a bad reputation because of the fantastic stories (lies) that she has made up.
  
• Claude Has a Picnic by Dick Gackenbach. Clarion Books, New York:1993. Claude is a dog who notices that everyone in the neighborhood has something that another neighbor wants. Claude exchanges the items until everyone in the neighborhood comes out a winner.
  
• The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble. Dial Press: 1980. Jimmy's boa wrecks havoc on the class field trip to the farm but in the retelling the story gets confusing to the listener.
  
• The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo. Crowell, New York:1989. Rhodopis was serving as an Egyptian slave girl because she had been kidnapped by pirates from her home in Greece. She is given gifts by her master which makes the other slaves jealous.
  
• Frog and Toad Are Friends (in Spanish Sapo y Sepa Son Amigos) by Arnold Lobel. New York, Harper and Row: 1970 (I-Can Read book). Many different types of conflict are presented in this book around the issue of friendship. They are often solved through compromise and provides a good topic for discussion.
  
• Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats. New York, Viking Press: 1969 (A Caldecott Honor Book). Peter, Archie, and Willie the dog must be clever to keep the big boys from taking their treasured find.
  
• The Grouchy Ladybug (in Spanish La Maquita Malhumada) by Eric Carle. New York, Harper Collins: 1977. The grouchy ladybug wants to fight everyone and never succeeds in getting any food. The friendly ladybug never fights or yells, even when challenged by the grouchy ladybug. She suggests an alternative, and when the ladybug returns she becomes her friend and shares her food.
  
• The Hating Book by Charlotte Zolotow. New York, Harper and Row: 1969. A little girl is rebuffed by her friend. After Mother urges her to ask what's wrong, the friends make up.
  
• Herbie's Troubles by C. Chapman. E.P. Dutton, NY: 1981. Herbie and his friend Jimmy are having troubles with their relationship. Herbie resolves this in a creative, peaceful way.
  
• How Big Is a Foot by Rolf Myller. New York, Dell Publishing: 1962. A king wants a new bed made and uses his foot to measure the bed. The apprentice with tiny feet follows the king's directions but makes a tiny bed. He is thrown in jail then they recognize their mistake and negotiate a solution.
  
• How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina Friedman. Houghton Mifflin: 1984. A young girl narrates this story, explaining why some days her family eats with chopsticks and some days they ear with knives and forks. She recounts the courtship of her American sailor father and her Japanese mother.
  
• I Am Better than You by Robert Lopshire. New York, Harper and Row: 1968. Two identical lizards are in competition. One of them declines to battle, averting war. This book suggests solutions other than violence.
  
• I Hate English by Ellen Levine. Scholastic, New York: 1989. When her family moves to New York, Mei Mei finds it difficult to adjust to school and learn the alien sounds of English.
  
• Ira Says Good bye by Bernard Waber. Boston, Houghton Mifflin: 1988. This story deals with fear of losing your best friend. The boy brags about all of the new things that will happen in the new town, and this is used only as a cover-up for his insecurities about moving. Ira's feelings are hurt because he is afraid that his best friend will forget about him.
  
• Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber. Scholastic, New York:1972. Ira must decide if he will stick up for his own values or give into peer pressure from his sister. His biggest fear is that his new friend will make fun of him.
  
• Island of the Skog by Steven Kellogg. Dial Books, New York: 1973. The mice in this story decide to move because they want freedom. They approach a new island and decide to attack with violence instead of arriving peacefully. They have conflicts and learn tools to approach new friendships in a positive manner. Discussion can also focus on the skills needed to make friendships.
  
• Jamaica Tag-Along by Juanita Havill. Houghton Mifflin: 1989. Jamaica likes to follow her big brother, who doesn't appreciate having her around when he play serious baseball. She learns how he feels when a younger child wants to help her build a sand castle. In the end they all help each other.
  
• King of the Playground by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Athenaeum: 1991. Kevin learns how to deal with the neighborhood bully, Sammy, who claims to be "King of the Playground." Kevin's dad helps him realize that Sammy's threats are unrealistic and silly. Kevin finally stands up to Sammy and they end up playing together.
  
• The King Who Rained by Fred Gwynne. Prentice-Hall: 1976. A young girl pictures the things her parents talk about but as their homonyms, such as a king who rained, bear feet and the foot prince in the snow.
  
• Let's Be Enemies by Janice May Udry. New York, Harper: 1961. John and James have trouble getting along, so they decide to be enemies and say goodbye. They reconsider and begin playing together again. Angry feelings do not need to last.
  
• The Little Brute Family by Russell Hoban. New York, McMillan: 1966. Life in the Brute family is one snarl after another until Baby Brute brings home a little lost good feeling he has found in a field of daisies.
  
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Random House: 1971. This book focuses on conflicts over the environment. The Lorax speaks for the Truffula trees which are being cut down to make "thneeds" for profit.
  
• Loudmouth George and the Sixth-Grade Bully by Nancy Carlson. Carlorhoda Books: 1983. George and his friend Harriet think of a creative way to deal with the bully who steals his lunch.
  
• That Man Is Talking to His Toes Two children see a man passing by talking to his toes. They tell their friends, who tell their friends but each time the message gets distorted.
  
• Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by V.L. Burton. Houghton Mifflin Co.: 1939. Mike's steam shovel, Mary Ann, has dug herself into a hole and can't get out. The whole town comes to their rescue.
  
• Mine's the Best by Crosby Bonsall. Harper and Row: 1973. Two boys argue over whose balloon is best.
  
• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, New York: 1987. In this African version Nyasha (the younger, kinder sister) is constantly the object of Manyara's (the older, meaner sister) wrath. The King has announced that he wants a bride and the sisters walk to the palace separately. On Manyara's walk she is mean to an old beggar and all the other animals she has met on the way, whereas her sister, Nyasha, shows them only kindness. Justice is served when all find out that the old beggar and all the other animals were actually the king in disguise and he chooses Nyasha as his queen.
  
• Noel the Coward by Robert Kraus. Windmill Books and E.P. Dutton, New York. Noel and his father are cowards. Noel gets picked on by other kids until he and his father decide to take lessons at Charlie's school of Self Defense. They pass with honors, but never have to use their physical defense knowledge because everyone can "tell" they can defend themselves now. this book teaches the self esteem comes with learning how to defend yourself. Both are important defenses against bullies.
  
• Now One Foot, Now the Other by Tomie de Paola. Putnam: 1981. This story explores the relationship between a child and his grandfather. When Bobby is a baby, grandfather Bob helps him learn to walk. Years later when grandfather has a stroke, young bobby helps him learn to walk again.
  
• Oliver Button Is a Sissy (in Spanish Oliver Button es un Nena) by Tomie DePaola. Harcourt, New York: 1979. His classmates taunt him because he doesn't like to do the things that "boys do" but that doesn't stop Oliver from doing what he likes best: dancing!
  
• The Other Way to Listen by Bird Baylor. New York, Scribner: 1978. After hoping and trying the narrator is finally able to hear the hills singing.
  
• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall. Viking Press: 1979. In early New England, a man packs his goods in the ox-cart to sell at Portsmouth Market, where he can buy provisions for this family. The whole family contributes to the goods: a shawl his wife made, mittens his daughter knitted, linen the women wove, birch brooms his son made, and even wool from the sheep and a bag of feathers from the goose.
  
• The Paperbag Princess (in Spanish La Princesa de una Bolsa de Papel) by Robert Munsch. Toronto, Annick Press: 1992. In this humorous fairy tale the Prince is to lazy to save the Princess from the dragon so she has to do it herself.
  
• A Peaceable Kingdom by Alice and Martin Provenson. New York, Penguin: 1982. A whimsical picture book of the alphabet as taught by the Shakers to their children, with a theme of peacefulness.
  
• People (In Spanish Gente) by Peter Spier. Doubleday: 1979. This book emphasizes the differences among the four billion people on earth and then shows what it would be like if everyone and everything were the same.
  
• Potatoes, Potatoes by Anita Lobel. New York, Harper and Row: 1967. Two brothers join opposing sides in a war, expecting excitement and glory. When their mother is hurt in a battle over her potato field, the brothers work together to make peace.
  
• The Quarrelling Book by Charlotte Zolotow. Harper and Row:1963. In this story one person starts off with a bad day and this spreads throughout the characters until a young child, who plans to take it out on his dog, is greeted with a positive response which de-escalates the original conflict.
  
• Rachel and Obadiah by Brinton Turkel. New York, E.P. Dutton: 1978. Rachel and her brother Obadiah are Quakers in Nantucket Island. Whenever a ship returns, a child is chosen to spread the work. Rachel wants to be chosen, but Obadiah tells her girls can't run as fast as boys. Rachel gets the chance to deliver the news.
  
• The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin. New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons: 1992. In this Algonquin version the older two sisters lie and say that they have seen the Great Spirit and wish to be his bride. When their lies have been exposed by the Great Spirit's sister the girls go home in shame. Their younger sister, the object of their scorn and ridicule goes to the Great Spirit's tipi and is accepted by the Great Spirit's sister because of her positive virtues.
  
• The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss. Random House: 1961. This humorous, but poignant, story-poem reveals conflicts between its characters that stem from individual differences. The Star-Belly Sneetches snub the Plain-Belly sorts until a salesman comes to town with a star stamping machine, throwing confusion into the community--and ultimate awareness of their folly.
  
• The Sorely Trying Day by Russell Hoban. New York, Harper and Row: 1964. Shows how one thing can lead to another, and blaming others just makes things worse.
  
• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. New York, Viking Press: 1936. Ferdinand is a peace-loving little bull who prefers smelling flowers to making a reputation for himself in the bull ring.
  
• Swimmy by Leo Lionni. Pantheon Books, New York: 1968. Swimmy is a tiny fish that is not accepted by the other fish in the sea because he looks different. He is lonely and craves acceptance. He finally meets a school of small fish and he wants them to play with him. They refuse because they are afraid that the big fish will eat them. After brainstorming they come up with the idea of joining together to look like a big fish.
  
• Tacky the Penguin by. Tacky is an odd bird and isn't accepted by the other penguins because he is different. When the hunters come to trap penguins they find out that Tacky isn't really all that bad to have around.
  
• The Talking Eggs by Robert San Souci. New York, Dial Books: 1989. This version takes place in the deep south of the United States. The younger sister befriends an old woman and because of her kindness she is rewarded with magical talking eggs, which turn into beautiful gifts. Upon seeing her gifts her greedy mother sends her mean older sister to come back with treasure, but all she returns with is a trail of pestilence.
  
• That's Mine by Elizabeth Winthrop. Holiday House: 1977. After a fight, two children discover that they can do things better when they cooperate.
  
• Thump and Plunk by Janice May Udry. New York, Harper and Row: 1981. Thump and Plunk are brother and sister mice who fight over their dolls, Thumpit and Plunkit. Their mother helps them to solve their problems.
  
• Tim, the Peacemaker by Uwe Friesel. New York, Scroll Press: 1971. Tim plays a flute so beautifully that all who hear him stop whatever they are doing to listen. he stops constructive work, but he also stops soldiers from fighting.
  
• The Tomato Patch by William Wondriska. New York, Hilt, Rinehart and Winston: 1960. Two neighboring kingdoms do nothing but make weapons. The two princes, one from each kingdom, start to grow tomatoes. They learn that growing tomatoes is more important than making weapons.
  
• The Toughest and Meanest Kid on the Block by Ben Schecter. Even bullies can turn into friends.
  
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (in Spanish La Historia Verdadera de los Tres Cerditos) by Jon Sciezka. Viking, New York: 1989. This humorous book tells the story of the Three Little Pigs from the wolf's perspective. He states that he was just going over to borrow a cup of sugar from the pigs, and due to his cold he sneezed and accidentally blew the houses down. The wolf feels that he was maligned from the start and has been framed for this whole incident.
  
• Two Giants by Michael Foreman. New York, Pantheon:1967. Two happy giants quarrel over ownership of a seashell, gradually realizing how ridiculous it is for the equally powerful to fight each other.
  
• The Unfriendly Book by Charlotte Zolotow. New York, Harper and Row: 1975. Two little girls work out their differences and remain friends.
  
• The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting. Clarion: 1983. Mrs. Bear plans a surprise Valentine's Day celebration for Mr. Bear despite their usual hibernating habits at that time of year. It is she who ends up delightfully surprised by her husband.
  
• Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox. Kane/Miller: 1985. A small boy with four names learns that an elderly neighbor, also with four names, has lost her memory. As he tries to discover the meaning of "memory," Wilfred Gordon gathers his treasures and shares them with "Miss Nancy," helping to restore her memory for a while.
  
• William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow. Harper and Row: 1972. Even though his father has gotten him a basketball and an electric train set, William still wants to have a doll of his very own.
  
• The Winner by Kjell Ringi. New York, Harper and Row: 1969. A picture book about competition and escalation, dealing with the absurdity of war.

• Vitamin L. "Swingin’ in the Key of L", "Everyone’s Invited", "Walk a Mile". Lovable Creature Music. 105 King St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850. (607-273-4175).
  (These are wonderful cassettes designed "to spread love and goodwill through music." Many of the ideas fit perfectly with principles of resolving conflicts productively.)