Children’s Books by Carolyn Wilhelm and Family include A Mom: What is an Adoptive Mother? Alex Asks About Auntie’s Airplane Day: An Adoption Day Story, Super Spoons to the Rescue: A Math Measuring Story, The Frogs Buy a New House: An Economic Story for Children Who Are Moving to a new home, and Good Afternoon Vietnam: A Civilian in the Vietnam War
A Mom: What is an Adoptive Mother? by Betsy and Carolyn Wilhelm, illustrated by Pieter Els
A mother is the same whether children are adopted or biological. In this story, the child has been adopted. It is written from the viewpoint of the child to help explain a mother is the same in any family. Mom helps check under the bed for monsters, reads books, and watches movies with the girl. She does the same things every mother does. Visually, the images show a white mother and an Asian daughter. Read more at the post about the book.
Paperback (Amazon)
Kindle eBook (Amazon)
eBook for Nook (Barnes and Noble)
Alex Asks About Auntie’s Airplane Day: An Adoption Day Story by Carolyn Wilhelm, illustrated by Pieter Els
This is a multigenre fiction story based on a nonfiction annual event, the adoption day celebration sometimes called airplane day or gotcha day. This is the story about how an adult aunt adopted from South Korea fits in an otherwise white family in Minnesota in the United States. It is meant for the young family relatives to help them understand how a family could have racial diversity. Celebrations such as airplane day and gotcha day are a good way to help family members with such memories. Read more about this book here.
This book is available in 3 formats:
- Interactive Version for Kindle Fire and Android Devices Only
- eBook for Kindle Paperwhite and iPad
- Paperback
When Carolyn’s father was young, he once traded a bowl of ice cream for a cup of ice cream. He worried it wasn’t a good trade, and he later remembered the story and told his children. Carolyn decided that even young children can learn about measuring and avoid bad trades like that one! When teaching first grade, many children began the fraction unit by thinking 1/100 was a huge number. She wrote this story to help parents provide some fraction readiness at home.
The Frogs Buy a New House by Carolyn Wilhelm, illustrated by Oxana Cerra
This is an economics story for children who are moving, have moved, or know someone who is moving. The Frog family includes the parents Felix and Flora, and their little tadpole, Fred. The story begins: “The Frog family had always lived in the pond far out in the country. They had purchased their one-gallon watery home space when prices were low because the pond was low. Recent rains had raised the pond level and also the prices of the house. It was time to cash in on the gallon of equity they had earned. A two-gallon water space would sell quickly and the Frogs could move to a bigger home. They had been dreaming of a five-gallon water space, like an aquarium.” Economic terms and the reality of what is involved in a family moving to a new place is interwoven through this fictional frog story.
Good Afternoon Vietnam: A Civilian in the Vietnam War by Gary Wilhelm
This story of a civilian technology engineer working with the Marines in DaNang, Vietnam, in 1968 and 1969 was written by Gary Wilhelm, Carolyn’s husband. Wilhelm arrived in a blue suit and tie from a military chartered plane and finally found his back way to the USA for a company that resisted ending his work term and allowing him to come home.
A Civilian Working in a War Zone
The position was working with the computer technology of the time and the US Marine Corp. No one else from his company who had previously gone to Vietnam was available to tell him what he could expect. No one was there to meet his plane!
Working with the Marines
The memories include the night sky being alive with planes circling the base, listening to a bamboo band play American military songs, learning first-hand how difficult holidays are in a war zone, where as a civilian he was not allowed to carry a weapon. His volunteer position as a substitute English teacher for the South Vietnamese was protected by Marines with shotguns and side-arms.
Life Learning: This is a story of adaptation, survival and the life perspective war can bring. Gary’s blog, The Frugal Engineer.
Free Discussion Guide for Good Afternoon Vietnam: A Civilian in the Vietnam War
Always free on Wise Owl Factory, Carolyn wrote a teacher guide to use with her husband’s book. There is a Venn diagram to compare and contrast being a civilian in a war zone with being a soldier there. The guide has a crossword puzzle and answer key, as well. The discussion questions could be used by any book club, really. And there are single point discussion pages that could be pulled separately for small groups, or for rotating groups.
