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• 1 2016-12-04T16:47:57-08:00 Critters Cry Too: A Story of Addiction by Anthony Curcio 5 A picture book for ages three and up to help with understanding addiction. plain 2016-12-04T17:32:18-08:00 Imagine you are five years old and you have a big brother who is coming home, throwing up, being mean, losing weight, and doing things that just are just not normal. What is going on? Why is he acting this way? Critters Cry Too warms the heart with a message for children and parents. Critters, like people, get "madsad" and can fall victim to boredom. When something new-- a Whateveritwas-- comes along, some Critters are okay with it while others get really sick from it. Dr. Rhymer, the roach, tells the story of Calvin the Critter as he finds his way out of Zapatos and shows that some other Critters can find their way out, too. 
  
  There are not many children's books that address addiction in the format of a story. Only two others, come close:
  An Elephant in the Living Room (1994) by Jill Hastings and Marion Typpo and The Dragon Who Lives at Our House by Elaine Mitchell and Norris Hall.
  
  An Elephant in the Living Room has good information about alcoholism, but is a little long for this age group. However, it is a bit immature for an older child.
  
  Dragon Who Lives at Our House also addresses alcoholism and is a bit confusing in its use of metaphor. The dragon is alcohol, and is cute. The dragon appears at barbecues and goes to Dad's office. It's not quite clear what the dragon really is. However, it is a resource that may be used along with Critters Cry Too.
  
  
  Moving forward, let's see what activities and library programming ideas there are to go along with a very serious subject. Art Therapy is always a good way for a child (and adult) to express him or herself. The nice thing about these projects is you do not have to be an artist or social worker to provide a meaningful program or activity.