Special Guest Blog by Robert Ward

Nine Young Adult Novels that Teach Gratitude, Grit, and a Growth Mindset to Kids

Have you ever noticed that the main characters in a great deal of young adult literature are orphans? It has to be more than a coincidence that the inspiring protagonists of some of the most beloved books from the young adult canon either are parentless or are suddenly isolated from the love and support of family and friends.

I am sure you can add to this list of characters who face extraordinary obstacles virtually on their own:

1. Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders: recently orphaned and confronted with the death of two close friends
2. Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series: orphaned and temporarily trapped in a horrible home where he is unwanted and unappreciated

3. Stanley Yelants from Holes: sentenced to hard labor at Camp Green Lake for a crime he did not commit and because of a family curse that may turn out to be a blessing
4. Jeffrey Magee from Maniac Magee: orphaned (twice) and perpetually running… from himself

5. Karana from Island of the Blue Dolphins: orphaned while witnessing the massacre of her father and her people and abandoned on a deserted island for eighteen years
6. Brian from the Hatchet series: a child of divorce who is forced to brave the harsh wilderness alone

7. James from James and the Giant Peach: an orphan living with his two vile aunts until he embarks on an incredible adventure
8. Meg from A Wrinkle in Time: a young girl swept into a strange, scary new dimension and on a desperate quest to save her father and brother

9. The Baudelaire siblings from the Series of Unfortunate Events books: three oppressed orphans endure alliterative adventures against the evil Olaf

Despite their tumultuous journeys, these characters manage to persevere and to eventually triumph, armed finally with the insight that what they needed most was within them all along. This profound and lasting sense of gratitude provides these young heroes with the strength they need to not only survive but to thrive; and it is this inner fortitude and grace that assures the reader that these characters will be just fine long after The End.
Of course, the crucial lesson the authors of these magnificent books want to convey is universal and elemental: If these children who ostensibly have no one and nothing can summon the courage and determination to slay dragons—dragons that are real and imagined, internal and external—then so can you and I, especially those of us fortunate enough to be in far more comfortable and comforting situations.

In The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton beautifully sums up the meaning of gratitude and of appreciating what you have, even if you currently have very little, with two words: stay gold. This is my go-to phrase when I am issuing friendly caution to a student who is beginning to stray, as well as when I want to celebrate a student who has been especially sensitive, sympathetic, or supportive. My students know exactly what I mean by these two powerful words because together we have explored and discussed a wealth of amazing novels that we can compare and contrast, as well as learn from and love.
Thankfully, parents and teachers are starting to fully embrace the necessity and benefits of social, emotional, even soulful learning, in addition to academic learning. I learned long ago that preaching to my students yields limited results. It is far more fruitful and fun to allow my students to discover for themselves the wisdom of gratitude, grit, and a growth mindset through great stories. These universal themes of thankfulness, perseverance, and self-assurance sustain us through the hard times and spur us to strive for the things that really matter in life, so much of which is meaningful rather than material.

Robert Ward has been teaching English at public middle schools in Los Angeles for twenty-three years. He is also the recent author of two books for teachers, The Firm, Fair, Fascinating Facilitator and The Teacher Tune-Up, published by Rowman and Littlefield. His newest book, A Teacher’s Inside Advice to Parents: How Children Thrive with Leadership, Love, Laughter, and Learning, will be available this fall. Robert can be contacted via his website: http://www.rewardingeducation.com/