Any suggestions for books for a 7 year old that emphasize not giving up & okay if not easy at first?

[Anonymous]

DD gets down on herself when things don't come easy for her in school. When she was younger, we read a book about a historical character that overcame adversity and I think at the time it helped her try to be more independent and think she could do it instead of giving up without trying. I don't want to go to the same well again and now it's a little different. Seeing people in the high grouping and thinking if you aren't there from the beginning you just aren't any good at that subject. Or covering something that takes more effort and tuning out because you don't get it at first. DD loves history, enjoys reading and loves learning details of other people's life so I will get further with her making that connection and internalizing it than a lecture from mom. Until she sees the value, we can explain all we want but it won't make a difference.

TIA

[Anonymous]

the Mia Hamm soccer book - "quitters never win," isn't bad.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Although she is a bit old for this book....The Little Engine That Could.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. Also, dr.seuss's "oh the places you will go." And look at the chicken soup series for kids.

[Anonymous]

Our library has a binder with all the books sorted by the subject - perhaps you have something like that at yours? You can also ask the librarian if the above books don't work.

[Anonymous]

I would look through the descriptions of the various American Girl books. Some of them must deal with this.

[Anonymous]

Here Comes the Strikeout
Let's go Two Wheeler

[Anonymous]

"Jenny and the Cat Club" by Esther Averill. A charming (cat) character who overcomes her fears.

"The Thing about Georgie" by Lisa Graff. Recently read this to my kids (similar ages to yours) and they really enjoyed it. About a 4th grader who is born a dwarf and grapples with his own strengths and weaknesses. The character is very three dimensional, and the fact that he is a dwarf is only a small piece of him.

[Anonymous]

I would look at Andrew Clement's books. Many of them address 4th grade situations of not giving up. I particularly like The Report Card for this type of question. But most of his books have some element of this theme.

[Anonymous]

Your child enjoys and relates to historical biography, and that's ideal, because history is full of people whose accomplishments did not come easily!

Did you know:

-Michael Jordan failed to make his high school varsity basketball team
-Albert Einstein's teacher described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams."
-An MGM executive described Fred Astaire as, "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald."
-Winston Churchill lost every election for public office until he became Prime Minister of England at the age of 62.
-Walt Disney went bankrupt several times.

All of the above comes from a little book called "Fail Better" (it's on Amazon). It is for adults, I suppose, but certainly could be read by or to your 7 yr old.

Also, my daughter really liked a bio of Lincoln that highlighted how often he "failed" before succeding (he lost his first bid for office, but fortunately was not deterred by that for long). I can't recall the title, but I'll post again if I can find it.

Best wishes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your child enjoys and relates to historical biography, and that's ideal, because history is full of people whose accomplishments did not come easily!

Did you know:

-Michael Jordan failed to make his high school varsity basketball team
-Albert Einstein's teacher described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams."
-An MGM executive described Fred Astaire as, "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald."
-Winston Churchill lost every election for public office until he became Prime Minister of England at the age of 62.
-Walt Disney went bankrupt several times.

All of the above comes from a little book called "Fail Better" (it's on Amazon). It is for adults, I suppose, but certainly could be read by or to your 7 yr old.

Also, my daughter really liked a bio of Lincoln that highlighted how often he "failed" before succeding (he lost his first bid for office, but fortunately was not deterred by that for long). I can't recall the title, but I'll post again if I can find it.

Best wishes!

NP here--this list is great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, my daughter really liked a bio of Lincoln that highlighted how often he "failed" before succeding (he lost his first bid for office, but fortunately was not deterred by that for long). I can't recall the title, but I'll post again if I can find it.

Best wishes!

Op here. Thanks for all the suggestions. If you think of the title for The Abe Lincoln book please post. Thanks for all the examples. The Walt Disney story would probably intrigue my daughter. Can you imagine a world without Disney princesses?

[Anonymous]

"Ish" by, Peter H Renyolds
is a great book to share with children. After his older brother teases him about his artwork, Ramon loses his love for drawing, until his younger sister teaches him an important lesson. She shows him that art does not have to be perfect, and even when a drawing of a vase doesn't look like a vase, it still looks "vase-ish". This book is wonderful for teaching students that not everything needs to be perfect, and that even imperfect things can still be enjoyed. A lot of students obsess so much about getting everything perfect that they neglect to see the real purpose of an activity. They worry so much about drawing a perfect dog or spelling every word perfectly that they cannot see the bigger picture. "Ish" will teach these students that imperfection can be a wonderful thing.

[Anonymous]

I like the books by Dr. Wayne Dyer -- No Excuses!, Unstoppable Me!, and Incredible You!