Books – our comfort blankets

There’s a great article in today’s Yorkshire Post by Sheena Hastings about how books can give solace in difficult times. It begins by quoting the actress Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee) who said that Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen ‘helped me from going under.’ Now that’s quite a big statement but it’s one that doesn’t surprise me. Books can comfort, they can heal, they can wrap you up like a warm blanket. Books don’t judge you or dump you or tell you that you are a failure. They do the opposite. They give you hope, they give you courage they give you insights to help you when you are down in the doldrums.

The book itself doesn’t have to be sentimental or an easy read. Often, it’s the titles that have storylines about overcoming all odds that speak most to people. Knowing that someone survived the harshest conditions can fill a dejected reader with inspiration.  A Little Princess (FH Burnett) Once by Morris Gleitzman and Goodnight Mr Tom are perfect examples.

I think poetry has a place here, too. A genuinely depressed person might not have the energy to ready prose but poetry – shorter and sharper – can go straight to the heart.

Here are some of my uplifting titles:

Young Adult:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Star of Kazan – Eva Ibbotson

The Princess Bride – William Goldman

Apache – Tanya Landman

The Tenderness of Wolves – Steff Penney

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants – Ann Brashares

Anne of Green Gables – L M Montgomery

8-12s

Private, Keep Out – Gwen Grant

Cosmic – Frank Cottrell Boyce

Two Weeks with the Queen – Morris Gleitzman

Millions – Frank Cottrell Boyce

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key – Jack Gantos

Ramona Quimby – Beverley Cleary

Judy Moody – Megan McDonald

The Wee Free Men – Terry Pratchett

Harry Potter (all) – JK Rowling

Goodnight Mr Tom – Michelle Magorian

The Machine Gunners – Robert Westall

The Robe of Skulls – Vivian French

5-8s

Diary of a Killer Cat – Anne Fine

The Legend of Captain Crow’s Teeth – Eion Colfer

Amber Brown – Paula Danziger

Superfudge – Judy Blume

Dirtie Bertie – Alan McDonald

Picture Books -

The Baker’s cat – Posy Simmonds

The Jolly Postman – Alan and Janet Ahlberg

The Gruffalo – Julia Donaldson

Eat your Peas – Kes Gray

Lost and Found – Oliver Jeffers

Prince Cinders – Babette Cole

What are your comfort reads?