Children today face unique and varied difficulties in their daily lives.

The types of problem that they have to face are like bullies, disabilities, homosexuality, self-esteem and families. As students have to face these problems, teachers today cannot just focus on the basic educational needs of students. They need to know how to deal with the problems that their students bring to classroom. Bibliotherapy is a good alternative for the teacher to help the students to deal with their problems. The definition of bibliotheraphy is the use of selected reading materials as therapeutic adjuvant in medicine and in psychiatry and guidance in the solution of personal problems through directed reading (Merriam-Webster Inc, 2012). There are many ways in which bibliotherapy help to cure children. Before I move on to the ways bibliotherapy helps children to cure themselves, I will talk about my opinion about the applications of bibliotherapy in Malaysia. Basically, bibliotherapy is rarely used in teaching and learning. Here, not all students are able to understand English and read English. This becomes the main problem for the teacher to choose a book and conduct a bibliotherapy session in the classroom. Even though there are students that can understand English well, there are always a few students do not get the idea of what they are reading. They might be a few, but as a teacher, we cannot just make an exceptional for them to learn through bibliotherapy. Apart from that, in primary school, literature is rarely being taught by certain teachers. I could see the situation during my school-based experience and when I was in primary school. Textbook is the only tool for the teachers to teach English. Therefore, in my opinion bibliotherapy is seldom being applied in teaching and learning. The first process of bibliotherapy is to identify the needs of the children and the appropriate reading materials for them. In Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles, books are the tools of medication. The hospital authority provides a therapeutic library for the patients. All books are related to the patients in the hospital. The books are important to help them relate themselves to the character in the book. Therefore, it is important to choose the book that related to the students. Besides, when it comes to choosing suitable books, teachers must make sure the chosen books is clear, brief, nonrepetitious and believable. In order to find a book that is easy to understand, picture

book is one of the childrens literature genre examples that show clear explanation of a story. Pictures help students to understand the text written in a book. Besides, the chosen book should fit with relevant feelings, needs, interests and goals. This is to ensure that the chosen reading materials match the students life experience. Children should be able to see similarities between themselves and the character in the book, or able to see them with teachers assistance (Pardeck, 1990). When students are able to relate themselves with a character, they may be able to find some ways that can help them to fix their own problem. Animal characters are usually more successful characters in therapeutic books. This is because sex, age and race are not involved in order to ensure the children concentrate on the content of the story and on his or her daydreams (Pardeck, 1990). Moreover, the developmental and the reading level should fit with the students age. Every age have different level of reading materials. There are many consequences if we give the children the books not according to their level. Younger students may find it difficult to understand the reading materials of a higher level and older children may become bore reading the lower level of reading materials. Therefore, it is important for the teachers choose the books carefully. Once the teachers help the students to choose appropriate books, they need to decide whether the book will be read in-group or individually. According to Pardeck (1990), even though there are students with good reading skills, the vast majority will get more benefit if the book is read aloud. Reading aloud is a precious practice that provides an opportunity to develop a trusting relationship between child and social practitioner (Pardeck 1990). In addition, before the teachers do a reading session with their students, they must remember to read the book chosen. This is important for the teacher to plan which words to emphasize during the reading. (Pardeck, 1990). Moreover, reading not only helps the students to cope with their personal issues. It also helps the students to learn language. They can improve their grammar and vocabulary through reading books. Without discussion, bibliotheraphy session is incomplete. The teachers must open a door for the children to share their opinion and express their feelings. If bibliotherapy is being done in the classroom, they can share their feelings with their

friends as their friends may have the same situation with them. This is important to heal their undesirable feelings that have been kept in such a long time. Besides giving such opportunity, the teachers also play an important role to give their opinion and guide them to do things right when it comes to personal issues. Children need adults to guide them in carrying themselves to involve in big problems that can affect their health issue. Therefore, with the appropriate book, and proper classroom atmosphere, the postdiscussion turns this guided reading into bibliotherapy (Dirks, 2010). The next way in which bibliotherapy can help to heal is by doing classroom activities after the reading and sharing session has finished. The main portion of bibliotherapy lesson is the application of the book to each childs problem. Many activities can be done with the group depending on the problem and how the teacher wants the children to realize how their problem relates to the book. According to Maich and Kean, activities like drawing, writing, identify and creating can help the teachers in their teaching (2004). When it comes to drawing and creating, students can draw a map to illustrate a story event, create a collage or draw pictures of events in a story. These activities can present their creativity. For writing, children can write poems and the diary of the character in the book that they have read. They also can write how to resolve the story in a different way and this helps them to learn about the way to resolve their own problems instead of seeking help from others. Apart from helping the students to express, writing activity also can improve their language automatically. Moreover, by doing these activities in the classroom, the teachers can help their students to express their feelings and problems in the work of art. When they are able to express their feelings and difficulties, they can reduce their anxiety and promote relaxation. Basically, when it comes to heal, activities are important in bibliotherapy approach in classroom. In conclusion, bibliotherapy can help children to heal themselves. Books are always the important alternative to help students in resolving their daily lives problem. Characters in books can make students relate themselves to their problem and learn to provide their own solutions to cope with their difficulties in life. It is also an important tools for the teacher to help students to release their emotional pressure that caused by their personal problems. Teacher must play their role too. They must always aware of

their students personal issue and help their students to handle it. Teachers also need to provide fun activities for the children to create good relationship between them. The atmosphere in the classroom should be good, so the students will be more comfortable learning.

References

Dirks, K.L (April, 2010). Bibliotherapy for the inclusive elementary classroom. Retrieved from http://commons.emich.edu/honors/237 Maich, K., & Kean, S. (2004). Read two books and write me in the morning! Bibliotherapy for social emotional intervention in the inclusive classroom. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus,1(2) Merriam-Webster. (2012). Bibliotherapy. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com Pardeck, J. T (1990). Using bibliotherapy in clinical practice with children. Psychological Reports, 67, 1043-1049.