The Mighty LaLouche
by Matthew Olshan
illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Replaced by electricity, Lalouche is not a man to give and demonstrates resilience in his continued efforts to work hard and find new ideas.
Papa’s Mechanical Fish
by Candace Fleming
illustrated by Boris Kulikov
A submarine inventor who has little success uses questions and ingenuity to remain persistent in his attempt to accomplish his goal.
Charlotte the Scientist Finds a Cure
by Camille Andros
illustrated by Brianne Farley
Charlotte is resilient in the face of doubters and rises up to find cure for her forest friends.
Rosie Revere, Engineer
by Andrea Beaty
illustrated by David Roberts
Trying new things, trying new things again when the first attempt doesn’t work, following your passion, disregarding doubters, and just plain doing your best, are all a part of this fun story about a young girl who learns the value of persistence.
Salt in His Shoes
by Deloris Jordan and Roslyn M. Jordan
illustrated by Kadir Nelson
A story about legendary Michael Jordan, basketball superstar, by his mother and sister, teach us Michael himself did not always believe in himself, but one of the cures for giving up and learning to be persistent and resilient is hard work and at least a little bit of patience.
Amazing Grace
by Mary Hoffman
illustrated by Caroline Binch
Who hasn’t been told, “You can’t do that?” Grace, a little girl with big dreams, wants the part of Peter Pan in a play, but she is a girl and black and therefore told she couldn’t do it. Not willing to give in or believe what others said about her, Grace resiliently triumphs through persistence and encouragement from others.
The Most Magnificent Thing
by Ashley Spires
After several failed attempts and a certain desire to quit, we learn from the main character in this story about the importance of looking at things from a different point of view and creativity when our dreams and efforts don’t go quite as planned.
The Noisy Paint Box
by Barb Rosenstock
illustrated by Mary Grandpre
This a book about Vasya Kandinsky, the Russian abstract artist that heard colors and saw music. Although not directly about resilience, Kandinsky did overcome strong the strong expectations of what others thought he “should” do in order to develop his talents.
Luigi and the Barefoot Races
by Dan Paley
illustrated by Aaron Boyd
A tall tale, Luigi must face his biggest fear when running in the neighborhood races. Finding the will to not give up is part of the resilience skill -set.
I am Helen Keller
by Brad Meltzer
illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
A bit lengthy for some ages, but the story of the both blind and deaf Helen Keller and how she overcame her challenges is an example of grit and resilience. It the case of resilience it is nice to know when “real” people overcome difficult odds.
