How to Become a Planet: removing the stigma of mental illness

How I Became a Planet is a middle grade, realistic fiction novel by Nicole Melleby.  The main character is Pluto, a 7th grader, who is on the verge of being sent away from her home on the Jersey Shore to live with her Dad in the city.  The only way she can stay is if she shows progress from her diagnosed anxiety and depression by:

• completing summer school
• reconnecting with her ex-BFF
• doing what her mom asks

Only when Pluto meets Fallon, another person with her own to-do list, does Pluto get the support she needs to come to terms with her new normal.  

This is a heavy topic, much like Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind, where the neurodiverse internal dialog takes center stage.  I would add this book to my school library collection and have it for my home library for my middle grade daughter because Melleby's portrayal of Pluto and Fallon's relationship is a positive one for young people to see.  Their romantic relationship organically grows out of their friendship with a supportive community to foster their identities.  I hope that more middle grade writers incorporate characters who have complex mental illness needs, as well as more characters who have non-cis-gendered identities.  

Here is an interview with Melleby to learn more about this book.  Melleby has also written many other middle grade books, see below:

Lemon Drop Falls: "Brave the Sour to Taste the Sweet"

Lemon Drop Falls is a middle grades chapter book by debut author, Heather Clark.   Morgan's mom always had a plan for everything.  Except when she passes away unexpectedly she tells Morgan to make sure her younger siblings are looked after and are happy.  In this way she transfers the pressures she faced to her 12 year old daughter.  Morgan does everything in her power to take care of her younger siblings, who are quite a handful.  Whenever she gets in a bind, she thinks back to what her mom would do in that situation.  For example, when someone in the family had a tough problem, her mom would pull out the jar of lemon drops and they'd talk about it or just be together through the rough patch.  

Only now, there is no mom and Morgan feels like she's drowning.  Her father has always been used to her mom taking care of everything down to the last detail so he has no clue how to run their household.  It's up to Morgan to go without her plans for the summer soccer team and unsure of how to mend her fragile friendships before the new school year begins in a new middle school.  Each chapter of the story is either a flashback to before her mom passed away or the present where Morgan is trying her hardest to keep everything on track. When her dad suggests that they take a camping trip, Morgan's anxiety and stress overflow to where she is in danger.  

This important story is good for young people and teachers and parents to read to understand how OCD and anxiety can get worse if not treated.  I wish this book had been around when I was younger so I could better cope with changing friendships, puberty, and even grief.  We had Heather Clark join a 4th grade class at my school for an author visit and she was phenomenal with the students.  She encouraged them to write what they know and what they're interested in. I highly recommend this book for upper elementary students and middle school libraries.

May is Mental Health Month:145 Picture & Chapter Books for elementary/middle school

Bibliotherapy is defined as "the use of literature to help people cope with emotional problems, mental illness, or changes in their lives (Pardeck, 1994), or to produce effective change and promote personality growth and development (Lenkowsky, 1987; Adderholdt-Elliott & Eller, 1989)." Books provide a neutral space to discuss these sensitive issues that students face and providing students with these opportunities to listen to, read, and talk about stories where characters are facing difficulties, it will help them in their own struggles and shows them how to support others who face these issues.  In gathering books for my teachers in my school, I came upon a website that listed the various branches of mental health issues.

These sub-categories helped me narrow down books to offer :

Of course there are many more excellent books that fit these categories. These were what we had available in our school library that I offered to the teachers.  If you have suggestions for additional titles please add them in the comments below!

If you'd like more resources on Mental Health Month, check out the Learning for Justice site.

The Sea in Winter: an authentic, modern-day Native voices book

 

The Sea in Winter written by Christine Day  is a middle grades novel that appeals to those who have been disconnected from their life purpose and need to find their way back.  In this story, 12 year-old Maisie is recovering from a knee injury that has left her without her ballet friends and her identity as a dancer.  This loss of control of her life is sending her down a depressing cycle of negative self-talk and a feeling of helplessness.  

When her family goes on a road trip to her mother's native ancestral homeland, the Makah, Maisie connects to the strength of her ancestors who had to endure hardships.  During the trip she cannot express why she feels so low despite her attempts to try to enjoy the memories she is making with her family.  After a text from her friend sends her into a downward spiral, Maisie has no choice but to face reality and accept help from her family so that she may heal in more ways than one.  

As a teacher and librarian, this book can be used in multiple ways:

1. The poetic language Day uses to describe the landscape as well as the characters.  It transports the reader to the landscape of the Pacific Northwest, to the ocean and the forest.   Students can explore the setting through online research to note how it compares to what they imagined while reading the book.  

2. Maisie learns how her ancestors lived through a landslide caused by magnitude-9 earthquake in the 1700s that caused a tsunami in Japan.  When asked how that could be, her mother replies, "The ocean has always connected us."  Students can take this one step further by researching other ways that one natural event affects other places.  

3.  Maisie and her little brother learn from their father about how his Klallam peoples' lives were affected by White settlement in the area, specifically, not being able to fish without a license.  But fishing licenses were only granted to citizens and Native Americans did not attain citizenship until 1924.  Students can research how the Native American community in their area was affected by White settlement. 

4. Maisie is going through a difficult time in her life. She doesn't have friends at school, her grades are slipping, and her one and only hobby is something that is off-limits until her body can heal.  A lot of people can relate to this sense of loss.  Students can revisit Maisie's mother's advice when she tells her, " Dreams change. Realities change. People change.  We all go through it in different ways."  What does she mean by this? How does this connect to your life?

The author's note at the end of the story gives more context to the various topics explored in the book.  The reader can benefit from reading this because it has such a personal connection to Day and her life.  More stories of modern-day Native people and their history and hopes for the future are much needed. Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, which published Day's book, has more authors with stories to tell. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books, classrooms and libraries around the world can carry and share these stories with their communities.