With an incredible talent for crawling inside a child's mind, Jenna Caputo has produced many children's stories that are popular with all ages. The synopses below are for books that are currently available for publication.
THE LITTLE TREE
Not your typical "Santa Claus coming to town" story, The Little Tree is a heartwarming tale about a small, not-so-perfect tree that hopes with all her might to have a home to light up for the Christmas season. She soon gets her wish when a young girl named Susan walks by. And so begins the story of a very special Christmas season told from the tree's point of view. Parents will love the subtle lessons on family, friendship, loss, and most of all, love. Children will be caught up in the gentle story of a few enchanting weeks in Susan's life. The Little Tree is a novelty book that is a perfect combination of a fresh look at a magical season incorporating childhood fantasies, important life lessons, and an easy to read style that children and adults of all ages will enjoy and treasure year after year! As an added bonus, this picture book can include an ornament for the child's own tree that is fashioned after the special box that Susan makes in the story - making The Little Tree a treasure for families to enjoy over and over in more ways than just one!
MRS. NORMAN'S KIDS
Imagine being the only child in your 2nd grade class with braces. How would you feel? What if you were physically disabled and had to spend your life in a wheelchair? How do you think the other children in your class would respond to you? After working several years with children of all ages, Jenna noticed that classrooms are becoming more diverse and children are dealing with a new variety of problems and issues that were not so prevalent even just a few years ago. She also noticed that there weren’t many books geared to the younger elementary school-aged child to deal with some of these new issues, so she decided to create a set of picture books to fill this void. This set focuses on one classroom of students and their teacher, Mrs. Norman. Mrs. Norman is everyone's favorite teacher. She is kind, smart, creative, and has the patience of saint - especially since she has a very diverse classroom when it comes to lifestyle, ethnicity, looks, physical challenges, and interests. By following Mrs. Norman and the problems confronted by her class, it is Jenna's intention to provide a comprehensive series that can benefit both schools and homes by giving parents and teachers a new resource to turn to that is geared specifically towards helping children understand some of the differences that make us all special, and how to deal with some of the issues they may encounter in their own lives. Although this is written as a set of books, each book can easily stand on its own. Children will adore the antics and colorful characters in Mrs. Norman's class, while adults will value the life lessons embedded in the stories. Besides the books listed below, future books in this set will also deal with immigrating to the U.S., parents going through a divorce, getting a first pair of glasses, a favorite pet dying, and other topics as well.
DON'T CALL ME WEIRD, JUST CALL ME, ME!
The first book in the Mrs. Norman set introduces the idea that sometimes we can all feel different or left out for various reasons. After listening to her class bicker and tease each other for their differences, Mrs. Norman has sent her class on a special project - to determine what it is that makes each of them feel left out or "weird," and how they could possibly deal with that. Each successive book in this set will, in a creative way, focus on one issue that the child feels is a problem in his/her life.
WE'RE ALL THE SAME, BY DIFFERENT JANE
Part of the Mrs. Norman set, this book deals with one girl's challenges in living life with Cerebral Palsy. A great book to help explain to other children what it is like to live with a physical challenge!
BUCKIE BILLY AND THOSE SPACES FOR BRACES
Part of the Mrs. Norman set, this book reveals what it is like to be the first one in your class with braces.
NATURALLY ME, CURLY DEE
Part of the Mrs. Norman set, this book follows little Dee Sanders as she tries to deal with her very curly hair and the taunts of the other "normal-looking" kids in her class.
NOT SO LONELY, ONLY JOANIE
Part of the Mrs. Norman set, this book explores what life is like for one only child.