Welcome parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, writers, publishers and anyone interested in having more birthdays!

     A is also for ATTITUDES to aging — I write books for kids and I hope to tweak attitudes to growing older.

(NEW book! A Plan for the People: Nelson Mandela’s Hope for his Nation.)

B is for Books that “nip ageism in the bud”!

Find a showcase for picture books with accurate & positive images of aging on the A is for Aging Blog and Picture Book List.

Read about older characters in award winners like Mr. McGinty’s Monarchs, Last Stop on Market Street, and A River of Words. Diverse titles such as Jingle Dancer, My Teacher, and Lillian’s Right to Vote. Also picture book biographies like Nature’s Friend: The Gwen Frostic Story, Henri’s Scissors and Bon Appetit:The Delicious Life of Julia Child!, and classics like Miss Rumphius.

Find older characters that remind us all–celebrating many birthdays is a good thing!

You will learn truths about growing older.(Is aging the problem or ageism?)

Read more in this Minneapolis Star Tribune article about A is for Aging.

Much of what we think we know about aging is a myth or stereotype. (That’s where the sick, sad, lonely, grumpy or forgetful characters come from. Along with the desire for a child protagonist.)

Negative stereotypes about aging are baked into our culture, and they’re harmful to our health and happiness. Many books for kids lead them to believe that old=bad or sad. But that is adults socializing them to believe it.

Later life stages can hold many good things & happiness tends to increase with age. Truth.

 

“Students often believe that what they read in books is true and right…a book may be sensitive and caring, may provide a wonderful lesson, and may be very enjoyable and still contain ageism or stereotyping.” 

Barbara M. Friedman, author Connecting Generations

 

C is for Change*!

*Download a FREE RESOURCE PAGE on Aging & Ageism in Picture Books here!

Let’s use picture books with more accurate and positive images of aging to change attitudes and show:

• A diverse group of older adults with tremendous knowledge, inner strength & creativity
• Skills & strengths created by years of experience
• Valuable friendships between generations

Please join us in efforts to increase the diversity of older characters we show children:

• Sign up to receive blog posts 1-2x per month via email
• Find “A is for Aging” on Facebook, A is for Aging on Twitter and Pinterest
• Peruse Picture Book resources or Blog posts
• Contact us with your thoughts & suggestions
• Download the FREE information sheet at C is for Change.

See the top of this page to navigate this website.

A warm thank you for stopping by!