Playful books to tackle serious issues
Bibliotherapy is a wonderful way to "talk" about topics with children in their own playful language. Below are hand selected books that are a perfect compliment to the work you are doing.
Click each book for description and price
(Scroll to see book list for Caregivers)
Abuse
Please Tell! A Child’s Story about Sexual Abuse by Jessie
A Terrible Thing Happened by Margaret Holmes
A Place for Starr by Howard Schor
Anger
The Penguin Who Lost Her Cool: A Story About Controlling Your Anger by M. Sobel
When I Feel Angry by Cornelia Maude Spelman
Don’t Pop Your Balloon by Janet M. Bender
Anxiety/Fear/Worry
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
What To Do When You Worry Too Much by Dawn Huebner
Taking Speech Disorders to School by John Bryant
Some Things are Scary by Florence Parry Heide
Bullying
The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill
Shredderman: Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen
My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig
Choices
What Should Danny Do by Adir Levy and Ganit Levy
What Should Darla Do by Adir Levy and Ganit Levy
What Should Danny Do School Day by Adir and Ganit Levy
What Should Danny Do on Vacation by Adir and Ganit Levy
Death
It Must Hurt A Lot by Doris Sanford
When Dinosaurs Die by Laurie Krasny Brown & Marc Brown
Divorce
Dinosaurs Divorce by Laurene Krasny Brown & Marc Brown
When My Parents Forgot How to be Friends by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos
Was It the Chocolate Pudding? by Sandra Levins
Family topics
I Love You With all my Heart by Noris Kern (love)
Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting (homelessness)
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell (non traditional family)
Feelings
Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
Honesty/Responsibility
David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon
Blues Clues: I’m Sorry by Justin Chanda
The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Chase Leavitt
Shyness
But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton
Race/Diversity
Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin
Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds
This book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
AntiRacist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi
Polar Bear and the Rainbow by Moira Butterfield
We Are All Alike, We Are All Different by Cheltenham
The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
Self Control
It’s Hard to be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel by Jamie Lee Curtis
The Rabbit Who Lost His Hop: A Story about Self-Control by M.S. Nass
Self esteem
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
I’m Gonna Like Me by Jamie Lee Curtis
It’s Okay to be Different by Todd Parr
Siblings
Julius, The Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes
My Beastly Brother by Laura Leuck
The Berenstain Bears: New Baby by Stan & Jan Berenstain
Vera’s Baby Sister by Vera Rosenberry
Transgender
Caregiver Book List
Understanding ourselves as well as our children is vital in adjusting behavior. Below is a list of books for yourself that provides insight to our own "stuff" and our children's brains.
Click each book for description and price
Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
"How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired"
Live Laugh Fly
Christina McMurray and Eugene McMurray
"Live Laugh Fly: A Family's Journey Through Childhood Cancer, Unimaginable Grief, and the Realization that Love Never Dies"
Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell
Learn how to speak to your child in a way that they feel loved.
The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity
Nadine Burke Harris
The author combines story telling and science to explore Adverse Childhood Experiences and the impact they have on our bodies.
Bruce Perry
Renowned child-psychiatrist Bruce D. Perry explain how empathy develops, why it is essential both to human happiness and for a functional society, and how it is threatened in the modern world.
Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
Highlighting the link between a child's neurological development and the way a parent reacts to misbehavior, No-Drama Discipline provides an effective, compassionate road map for dealing with tantrums, tensions, and tears—without causing a scene.