A kids' book we've liked: 'Jodie's journey'

I'm changing my old 'book of the week' series to something which promises less - 'a kids book we've liked'. I think this is something I can more realistically deliver at this stage! I'll share kids books that our family have enjoyed - either together or separately as I get the chance.

The most recent book I've read with the older two was one I read as a kid: Jodie's Journey. It's written by Colin Thiele, who is more famous for his book Storm Boy. It's about a girl (Jodie) who suffers from sever rheumatoid arthritis. A lot of the book is about her diagnosis and struggle with the disease. The climax of the book happens in the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983.

It's a well-told story which I thought was good in helping the kids think about what it must be like to have a chronic disease. Thiele actually had arthritis himself and wrote the book in response to a request from a little girl who suffered from the disease and wanted others to understand what it was like for her. I also thought it was good to teach the kids a bit of history about the Ash Wednesday fires (coincidentally we reached that part of the book on February 16 - the actual date of the fires, which made it seem like I had planned it that way!). Also, we learned a bit of about bushfires as well and I shared a few of my experiences thI had growing up in the Blue Mountains (one of my favourites is that Dave and I started going out in the middle of the '97 fires and fell in love as he cleared out the gutters of my family home - my dad was overseas with my sister and mum and I were on our own).

I've always liked the way Colin Thiele writes for kids. He takes his audience seriously and this book is no exception - I recommend it for readers who are 8 and up.