Addresses the issue of child sexual abuse, providing contextual information about the problem, such as the fact that in 85-95% of cases, the offender is known to and trusted by the victim. Discusses positive and negative influences of general children's literature noting that children are greatly influenced by situations depicted in books. Focuses…

Children's literature is a therapeutic tool for facilitating emotional growth and healing. Stories provide a catalyst for change, providing children with other perspectives and options for thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Appropriately shared stories provide opportunities for children to gain insight and learn healthier ways to face…

This document examines the sociological, psychological, and biological aspects of child abuse. It provides definitions of child abuse and historical perspectives of child abuse, the juvenile court system, and child sexual abuse. The psychology of the victim and of the offender is discussed, bibliotherapy is presented as one way of helping children…

A definition of bibliotherapy, who should conduct it, when and how it can be used, and some limitations are briefly addressed. Identification, catharsis, and insight are described as the three processes taking place in bibliotherapy. A list of techniques for accurately determining the needs of students, basic procedures in conducting…

Bibliotherapy appears to be a viable technique for reading teachers to use. The increased emphasis on values and values clarification in the classroom is just one of the many apparent uses of bibliotherapy and its techniques. Bibliotherapy is also a useful adjunct to the teaching of critical reading, because it requires the student to use higher…

This annotated bibliography was prepared for the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Clearinghouse on Early Childhood Education as a resource for teachers to use in helping young children cope with death and separation. It includes (1) a selected list of children's books which treat death, (2) a selected list of children's books which…

Poetry therapy has been in use with adult psychiatric patients at Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D.C, for 10 years. The treatment used involves reading poetry, listening to recordings, studying poets, and writing poetry. The patients' choice of poems is not restricted by the staff, but different types of poetry appeal to different types of…

In this day of change and upheavel, the basic purpose of the library remains unchanged. What is necessary is a change in our thinking, a re-evaluation of our activities and how they meet and fulfill that purpose and goal. Simply put: the library has a vested responsibility to society, namely, the whole man and to culture. The contributions of the…

Bibliotherapy, a humanistic approach to teaching, has been shown to make teachers more sensitive to the needs of children and to produce marked improvement in children's reading achievement. Books used for bibliotherapy (not for lessons or assignments) can provide children with reading that gives them greater insight into themselves, other people,…

Examines the dynamics, values, and limitations of bibliotherapy and discusses the use of bibliotherapy in the classroom. (GW)

Recommends bibliotherapy as a way in which school media specialists can help children become more independent and more socially and emotionally mature. Situations for which bibliotherapy is appropriate and the importance of discussions and other follow-up activities are covered. (8 references) (MES)

Describes four experiments conducted using a children's storybook and related games designed to help overcome fear of the dark. These materials incorporate behavior modification principles of fear reduction, including modeling, counterconditioning, shaping and hierarchical approach. Overall, the materials were found to be therapeutic,…

Evaluated the psychotherapeutic adjunct of bibliotherapy in a maximum security correctional setting with 54 volunteers from a general and segregated population. Results indicated that bibliotherapy may have a facilitative effect on self-concept and internal locus of control but cannot be differentiated from the effects of therapist intervention.…

Reviews literature concerning bibliotherapy and concludes that it can be of value to a child's overall emotional development and may help in breaking emotional barriers to learning. Discusses the role of the reading teacher in the bibliotherapeutic process. (FL)

Literature for children that treats issues of separation and divorce is written on all levels of comprehension and reading ability. (JH)