Hope.
It’s a theme I look for when I read and something I try to include in everything I write.I think it’s because there is that deep and silent longing inside me that pulls me from the daily step of this life and hungers me towards heaven. Hope says, despite what the world or life may proclaim, that there is something better, something more beautiful and it’s worth holding on to.

In children’s books hope used to be called ‘happy endings’. People believed all kids’ books had to be bouncy and innocent, and some were disturbed when writers began exploring the painful issues. Topics like divorce, and it’s effects on children, or abuse, bullying, suicide or even war began popping up in children’s literature. Although I don’t like books that revel in the dark side of life, or thin the lines between right and wrong, I strongly believe in the place for children’s fiction that explores the apparently hopeless. And when these same books strive, despite the odds of the character’s situations, to point to hope – that’s when I believe the gospel whispers from that story’s pages (regardless the author’s faith position).

Here are some of my favourite children’s novels that choose to explore the painful – yet continue to proclaim hope:

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – by Kate Dicamillo.
This is a heart wrenching, but beautiful story about a rabbit who discovers the meaning of love. Themes of suffering and friendship and the power of love resonate this novel.

Parvana (also called The Breadwinner) – by Deborah Ellis.
This is another story of children living in places of conflict – this time set in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban. Parvana, a young girl, has to act the role of a boy to earn money for her family.

The Great Gilly Hopkins – by Katherine Patterson.
The main character in this book is a foster child, bumped around from home to home and now with a tough and arrogant attitude. But, despite Gilly’s best attempts to stay distant and ‘in control’ love and belonging finally begin to break through.

Shahana – by Rosanne Hawke.
Set near the Line of Control in Kashmir (an area of our world that has not had real peace since before 1947) this is a novel of survival, friendship and family – when every aspect of life for the character is tinged with brokenness and the results of living in conflict.

And there are so many more! But what’s on your shelf? Which authors do you follow that write with a reputation of hope in their novels? I’d love to hear your suggestions…