RESOURCES

Books:

The Gorp's Gift
by Sherri Clessen

Ages 4-8

www.amazon.com

Gorp and his disarming friends engage in a delightful romp while helping children learn that GUNS HURT! In a whirlwind of confusion and bumbling charm, Gorp formulates and delivers his life-saving message. Designed to be loving and interactive, the children meet a bevy of original characters and then can pledge to them that, if they see a gun, they will not touch it and will tell an adult. The pledges will go to the President of the United States and can be signed online.

Just One Flick of a Finger
by Marybeth Lorbeicki, Illustrated by David Diaz

ages 6-12

www.amazon.com

In spare verse that echoes the percussive sound of rap music, the story of a boy and a gun. The narrator (of middle-school age or older) admits that at his school, ``You're a fool if you can't get your hand on a gun,'' and tells a familiar story of a bully, the need to feel in command in an out-of-control environment where there is little parental support. Attempting to threaten his tormentor with his father's gun, the narrator is thwarted by his friend, and both are wounded--a ghastly path to absorbing and rejecting the horror of violence. Diaz's digitally manipulated watercolor-and-acrylic paintings resemble, alternately, stained glass and African sculpture in their monumentality and broad planes of color. Both text and images capture the tension and fear of an urban schoolyard menaced by guns; the implied acceptance of the ease of obtaining a firearm is utterly chilling. While a picture book in format, this could be used very effectively with older children.

 From Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 1996

The Butter Battle Book
by Dr. Seuss

All Ages

www.amazon.com

A cautionary Cold War tale (first told by Dr. Seuss back in 1984), The Butter Battle Book still has a lot to teach about intolerance and how tit-for-tat violence can quickly get out of hand. Explaining the very serious differences between the Zooks and the Yooks, a Zook grandpa tells his grandchild the unspeakable truth: "It's high time that you knew of the terribly horrible thing that Zooks do. In every Zook house and every Zook town every Zook eats his bread with the butter side down!" He then recalls his days with the Zook-Watching Border Patrol, as he gave any Zook who dared come close "a twitch with my tough-tufted prickley Snick-Berry Switch." But when the Zooks fought back, the switches gave way to Triple-Sling Jiggers, then Jigger-Rock Snatchems--even a Kick-a-Poo Kid that was "loaded with powerful Poo-a-Doo Powder and ants' eggs and bees' legs and dried-fried clam chowder."With lots of fun and more-than-fair digs at the runaway spending and one-upmanship of U.S.-Soviet days, The Butter Battle Book makes a chuckle-filled read whether you're old enough to get the historical references or not. (And with all the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroos still in service, this book's message is far from obsolete.) -- Paul Hughes

Family Resources:

Connecticut Safe Kids Coalition

Connecticut Children's Medical Center
282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106
860-545-9988 Provides educational, technical assistance, products, and materials to support community safety projects.Fighting Fair for Families

Peace Education Foundation
1900 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132
305-576-5075 Manual offers tools for parents to handle conflict to create a more loving and caring environment.