This weeks book review has 20 books that I have personally found extremely useful as a child psychologist. We all know that most kids love books, especially at bed time. These type of books have an enticing and relatable story, while also making kids aware of important topics. These books help children to become aware of emotions, deal with difficult life circumstances, and build self-esteem.
I am a huge fan of using books as a resource to open discussions with kids. Helping children learn to identify emotions, the situations that spark these feelings and effective coping skills provides them with a strong emotional foundation, which in turn can lead to increased self confidence and sense of self esteem.
This list is not extensive, if you feel there is an important book that should be added, please reach out. Check out the previous post (Fun Psych Reads), here.
20 Books for Kids
Post Contents
A Terrible Thing Happened
Written by Margaret M. Holmes
Description: In A Terrible Thing Happened, Sherman Smith saw the most terrible thing happen. At first he tried to forget about it, but soon something inside him started to bother him. He felt nervous for no reason. Sometimes his stomach hurt. He had bad dreams. And he started to feel angry and do mean things, which got him in trouble. But then he goes to see a counselor to talk about what happened.
Review: As a psychologist that works with traumatized kids, this book, of course, is a favorite of mine. It can be hard for kids to understand that something terrible happened. Or that our bodies and minds react to these situations over time. This story illustrates an example of what can happen when kids experience any type of trauma (or negative experience).
But It’s Not My Fault! (Responsible Me!)
Written by Julia Cook
Description: In But It’s Not My Fault, join Noodle through his daily adventure to see that every time he gets in trouble, it is someone else’s fault. Noodle is master of the blame game and soon learns that he has to take responsibility of his own actions.
Review: But it’s Not My Fault is the first book in the Responsible Me! Series by Julia Cook. I find nearly all of her books useful when working with children and helping them to relate to stories. This book in particular I find great. I have never experienced a book to be as clear in describing the blame game so often played by kids. This book is cheery, quirky, with great illustrations and examples of diverse backgrounds. Definitely a must have for those who work with kids who just refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
What’s Inside Your Backpack? – Jessica Sinarski
Description: What’s Inside Your Backpack is a story about Zoey’s world. She wants to be happy and confident, without worries and fear, but she is stuck carrying this heavy backpack that makes it almost impossible. While there are no quick fixes for all of life’s complex problems, this book highlights some of the ways we can nurture resilience in body and mind.
Review: I was recently introduced to this book and the work materials that can be used alongside it. What’s Inside your Backpack is a beautifully written and engaging children’s story. It is clear that all children are carrying backpacks that are heavy with more than just textbooks. They also bear the weight of difficult life experiences and intense feelings. Both of which are difficult to understand and can have a negative impact on a child’s long-term outcomes. This book normalizes the experience heavy feelings and discusses strategies that kids can use to start to manage those feelings.
A Koala For Katie: An Adoption Story
Written by Jonathan London
Description: A Koala for Katie is a story about a young adoptee, Katie, who wants to better understand her journey from her biological family to her current adoptive family. Katie finds that role-playing with a koala stuffed animal, that she “adopted” at the zoo, helps her to understand the relationship.
Review: This is a cute story about adoption for younger children. It is easy to follow and gives children the idea for future role play by use of stuffed animals. Children often relate to animals more than humans. Thus why so many children books are about animals. It is relatable that Katie is able to act out her concerns with her newly adopted koala. While I find this book to be useful, I also find that I need to add information with the book. For example, the use of the term “real mother” instead of “biological ” or “birth mother”. As well as, expanding on the “you weren’t in my belly” concept.
Dina the Deaf Dinosaur –
Written by Carole Addabbo
Description: Dina the Deaf Dinosaur touches upon feelings from the author’s own childhood. Ms. Addabbo tells the endearing story of Dina, a deaf dinosaur, who runs away from home because her parents would not let her learn sign language.
Review: This book touches upon a subject that I have not been able to find many books on for younger children, deaf and hard of hearing culture. While this may be most appropriate for families (parents and siblings) or classmates of a deaf child, it can be extremely useful in helping children to understand differences through relatable themes. The emphasis is on the need for relationships through communication.
Sad Days, Glad Days: A Story About Depression
Written by DeWitt Hamilton
Description: In Sad Days, Glad Days, Amanda Martha’s mother suffers from depression and, although the girl’s father explains that it is not her job to make her mother happy, Amanda Martha thinks that a playful cat will help. Through the book, Amanda explains the sad days, glad days, and in-between days her family often experiences.
Review: This has been a classic story to use for children who have a parent suffering from depression. The book helps to open discussion about depression and mental illness between a parent and child. As well as help kids understand their own experiences. Through this book caregivers can discuss how parental mental illness affects the family. They can explore how they can work together to get through the difficult times.
Sam Feels Better Now
Written by Jill Osborne
Description: Sam Feels Better Now Sam saw something awful and scary! Ms. Carol, a special therapist, will show Sam how to feel better. Children can help Sam feel better too by using drawings, play, and storytelling activities.
Review: There are many aspects of this book that I have found useful in working with children. This book provides a safe platform for children to share feelings by first introducing a caring therapist. The author also does well describing another child’s difficult emotions. Overall, this is a good introductory book to use regarding scary feelings without digging deeply into trauma or experiences.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Written by Judith Viorst
Description: Alexander is not having a great day. He has to endure gum in his hair, sitting in the middle of the backseat, third-best-friend status, no dessert at lunch, lima beans, railroad pajamas, and kissing on TV—all in one day! Maybe he’ll just move to Australia.
Review: I love this book, for every experience children have. Kids get angry and upset and sometimes random bad things happen to ruin their day. This book explores those feelings and events in a humorous manner. Using this book to help a child understand what they may be feeling or as a way to get them to see that the world just isn’t that bad after all even when something awful may happen.
And Tango Makes Three
Written by Justin Richardson
Description: And Tango Makes Three is a children’s book which tells the story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who create a family together. With the help of the zookeeper, Mr. Gramsay, Roy and Silo are given an egg which they help hatch.
Review: I remember when this book was released in 2005 and some of the controversial reviews regarding a book about “two dads”. Personally, I believe that this book should be a part of every household or school’s repertoire. This book was based on the true story of Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins who fell in love in New York’s Central Park Zoo. It is beautifully written and illustrated and has an important lesson that love is not defined by gender or blood relations. I believe this book accomplishes normalizing homosexuality, adoption, foster families, and so much more in one little neat package about penguins. Who doesn’t love penguins?!
The Rainbow Fish
Written by Marcus Pfister
Description: This book is best known for its message about selfishness and sharing and for the distinctive shiny foil scales of the Rainbow Fish.
Review: I feel like almost everyone I know, knows this book. I had it in my childhood and I use it still to this day working with kids. Other fish start to stay away from the rainbow fish was because he was acting kind of like he was above them and freaked out on the fish who asked for a seemingly reasonable request (a scale).
Then the rainbow fish later sees how happy giving one of his scales away made the other fish. And it was even noted that it was the smallest scale he could have offered. However, the receiving fish was still so happy and grateful. It was then the choice of the rainbow fish to share his other scales. In other words the message of the book should be to be humble, don’t act above anyone else, even one small act of kindness can make a positive difference.
Everyone Poops
Written by Taro Gomi
Description: Everyone Poops is part biology textbook, part sociological treatise shows how creatures throughout the animal world–including humans–deal with the products of digestion.
Review: Many parents find this book to be useful with resistant potty trainers. This is another children’s book that uses animals and humans to illustrate a specific situation and then attempt to normalize it. It does a wonderful job in detailing how every person and animal poops, that it is natural and a necessary part of day to day. Kids that have read this book often want to use the bathroom and are more willing to discuss bodily functions than other children.
The Color Monster: A Story About Emotions
Written by Anna Llenas
The Color Monster . One day, Color Monster wakes up feeling very confused. His emotions are all over the place; he feels angry, happy, calm, sad, and scared all at once! To help him, a little girl shows him what each feeling means through color. As this adorable monster learns to sort and define his mixed up emotions, he gains self-awareness and peace as a result. Everyone will enjoy sharing this concept book that taps into both socio-emotional growth and color concepts in a simple, friendly way.
Review: This book always reminds me of Inside Out (the movie). I think it is a great example of understanding emotions and using child-friendly indicators, like colors, to label and identify feelings. I also enjoy that the story is about a child that helps the monster to learn, illustrating the need for supportive relationships and the help of others. The only concern I have with this book is the anger portion. When I use this book, I am always sure to modify or directly address how anger impacts people differently and that child is not responsible for another’s emotions or choices.
Fill a Bucket
Written by Carol McCloud
Description: Fill a Bucket is one many teachers use to teach kindness and empathy to their students. We can help fill people’s buckets by saying and doing kind things or we can become “bucket dippers”, dipping into people’s buckets to empty them every time we say or do something unkind.
Review: Sometimes I find that certain kids books have important messages that even adults could learn, this is one of those books. After reading this book with any child or group, I consistently use the phrase “fill a bucket” as a reason to help someone out or to help a child figure out how they are feeling. A child that comes up saying their bucket is empty is a much easier task than explaining they are run-down or upset. One of the many good things about the book is that it talks about the fact that we can and should fill our own buckets too, by speaking kindly to ourselves and taking care of ourselves. It also talks about the fact that doing nice things for people makes us feel good too. It invites children to imagine that everyone carries around an imaginary bucket filled with good feelings about themselves.
Tough Guys Have Feelings Too
Written by Negley Keith
Description: A boldly illustrated picture book about how everyone gets sad–ninjas, wrestlers, knights, superheroes, everyone…even daddies have emotions! Children will love recognizing their feelings in Keith Negley’s bold illustrations which accompany a fun-to-read-aloud narrative. Parents can joyfully engage with children in a light-hearted discussion about emotions and how they affect us all!
Review: This is a unique book that I have often used to introduce some more resistant kids to expressing emotions. When kids are taught early on to hide emotions or have trouble in expressing emotions in appropriate ways, it can be difficult to get them to “buy in” to some of the more classic books. When you tell a child that Spiderman or their favorite TV hero has emotions too, they may be more likely to engage in a discussion. This book helps kids find a relatable role model for expression.
Cory Stories: A Kid’s Book About Living With ADHD
Written by Jeanne Kraus
Description: Cory tells readers about himself in this picture book with black-and-white illustrations. Cory says that sometimes kids make fun of him and he isn’t sure why. “Sometimes my whole body falls off the chair!” But readers also learn that Cory has persevered, concentrating in karate class, making friends at bowling club, and helping other kids with math. The important parting message: “Nobody needs to be good at everything. But I found out that I am good at a lot of things.”
Review: I feel this book gives a broad description of what a child living with ADHD experiences. While also being positive and uplifting in its description of what help there is for a child with ADHD and projecting the positives of having ADHD.
I Miss You: A First Look at Death
Written by Pat Thomas, illustrated by Lesley Harker
Description: This book explains, in realistic but reassuring language, why people die and how hard it can be to say goodbye. The real genius: “What About You?” boxes scattered throughout the book that contain questions you can ask children.
Review: This book is very straight forward. It doesn’t beat around the bush, but rather, explains what happens when someone dies in terms a young child can understand. I do not find this book to be overtly religious or spiritual, but would not contradict most religious beliefs. This is a difficult topic because young children are not fully capable of understanding the permanency of death. This book has good questions towards the end that can help to get kids talking about how they are feeling.
Red: A Crayon’s Story
Written and illustrated by Michael Hall
Description: Through A Crayon’s Story children will pick up on the problem right away: A blue crayon is mistakenly labeled red. He can’t do what everyone expects of him (and other crayons give him all kinds of advice about how to be a better red) until one day he meets a purple crayon who sees his true color. Then he soars.
Review: Anyone will love this story, not just kids. This story is all about understanding who you are and that no one else can tell you. The blue crayon in a red jacket, is a classic representation of a child (or anyone) that is trying to fit into a role that everyone else is asking of them. This book is about learning to see your true colors and true values in order to succeed in life.
Somebody Cares: A Guide for Kids Who Have Experienced Neglect
Written by Susan Farber Straus, PhD
Description: Somebody Cares book puts into words a lot of what kids who experienced neglect feel but have a hard time expressing. Eventually, a social worker and therapist intervene, and the story ends sweetly.
Review: I may be biased on this one due to my work with foster children and the child welfare system in general. However, I believe it has an excellent message for kids who have experienced some kind of parental neglect. I find books like this validating for kids who have experienced a variety of circumstances while opening up an avenue for future discussion. A particularly poignant passage: “I tried to be strong and brave, but often I was worried and scared. I tried to do the best with what I had, but sometimes I needed more.”
What I Like About Me!
Written by Allia Zobel Nolan
Description: In this simple book for young children, students at school celebrate their diversity — from braces to glasses, curly hair to big feet. It provides a very positive message about the benefit of those differences.
Review: Another “BE YOU” type book that helps children to identify the things that make them unique and special. This book is a great opportunity to discuss that every single person is different and that a child does not need to fit into a specific role or be like anyone else. This book is a great self-esteem booster for any child.
Resources:
Microsoft Word – Bibliotherapy_annotated (ucla.edu)
Children’s Books That Teach Kids About Emotions | HuffPost Life
Reading about emotions to help kids master their own emotions. (ahaparenting.com)
Why Do Kids Need Books? – The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance (thencbla.org)
Reading to Children: Why It’s So Important and How to Start (healthline.com)
Top 20 Reasons Why Kids Should Read More. (readingbyphonics.com)
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