A monthly series including news about an Arkansas book, author, event, or item of literary interest to Arkansans.
By Erin Wood
As students head back to school nationwide, teachers, librarians, parents, and school counselors are thinking of books that will best benefit their students and children. Sometimes, kids have faced challenges that can be difficult for families to discuss, and the right book can be essential to initiating conversation and, eventually, healing.
Since 1991, author Greg Adams has worked with grieving children and families at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where he is now the Program Coordinator for the Center for Good Mourning and Staff Bereavement Support. His first book, Adam Gets Back in the Game, illustrated by Paige Mason, will be on sale September 3.
About: For ten-year-old Adam, happiness is being involved in a little of everything, including his favorite thing of all, playing basketball with his best friend Isaiah. But when he falls on a broken bottle, everything must stop for his “big hurt.” Later, all that Adam learned in healing from his injured hand will be put to the test when Isaiah dies suddenly in an accident.
Along with Adam, children experiencing the loss of a friend or family member can consider the costs of avoiding their pain and come to understand how grieving can help them more fully return to living.
Andy McNeil, Co-author, Understanding and Supporting Bereaved Children: A Practical Guide for Professionals, says, “The story offers relatable characters that normalize many of the feelings and behaviors children have after a death. It is an ideal tool for anyone living with, caring for, or supporting bereaved children.”
An 8.5 x 8.5 premium color paperback with 34 pages, Adam Gets Back in the Game is available for order at etaliapress.com and through local and national booksellers.
A Hot Springs native, Erin Wood is a writer, editor, and publisher in Little Rock. She owns and runs Et Alia Press (etaliapress.com). Wood is author of Women Make Arkansas: Conversations With 50 Creatives (April, 2019) and editor of and a contributor to Scars: An Anthology (2015).
