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!