Little Monkey Calms Down
Little Monkey is having a bad day. After a major melt down, he goes to his room and uses some coping techniques to calm down. He sings a a quiet song, cuddles with his blankie, and learns how take deep breaths. A relatable book for toddlers that teaches self soothing in an effective way.
Buy it here.
Watch a read aloud of it here.
Author: Michael Dahl
Recommended Ages: 1-4
My Many Colored Days
Using a spectrum of vibrant colors and a menagerie of animals, this unique book does for the range of human moods and emotions what “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” does for the human life cycle. Here is a wonderful way for parents to talk with children about their feelings.
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Author: Dr. Seuss
Recommended Ages: 3-7
When Sophie Gets REally, Really Angry
Everybody gets angry sometimes, and for children anger can be frightening and upsetting. In this Caldecott-honored book, we meet Sophie, who gets very mad when her sister snatches her toy. The storyline, accompanied by vibrant illustrations, explores what Sophie does with her heated emotions and how she recovers from them, offering an opening for discussion with your child about dealing with emotions.
Buy it here.
Author: Molly Bang
Recommended Ages: 3-6
Ruby Finds a Worry
The beloved picture book is about what to do when a worry won’t leave you at alone — perfect for reassuring young readers in times of stress.
Meet Ruby — a happy, curious, imaginative young girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry. It’s not such a big Worry, at first. But every day, it grows a little bigger . . . and a little bigger . . . . Until eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about.
Author: Tom Percival
Recommended Ages: 3-6
The Princess and the Fog
The Princess and the Fog is picture book to help children cope with their difficult feelings. It uses vibrant illustrations, a sense of humor and metaphor to create a relatable, enjoyable story that describes the symptoms of childhood depression while also providing hope that things can get better with a little help and support. The story is also a great starting point for explaining depression to all children, especially those who may have a parent or close family member with depression.
Buy it here.
Author: Lloyd Jones
Recommended Ages: 5-7
My Monster and Me
A touching story about a little boy whose worry monster follows him everywhere he goes. It’s there when he gets dressed, when he wants to play with his toys, and even when his friends come over to visit. How can he escape his worries?
Having struggled with anxiety for as long as she can remember, Nadiya Hussain has written this heartfelt story to ensure that no child suffers in silence—no matter what shape their worry monster may take.
Find a read aloud video here.
Buy it here.
Author: Nadiya Hussain
Recommended Ages: 3-5
Guts: A Graphic Novel
Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it’s probably just a bug. Raina eventually returns to school, where she’s dealing with the usual highs and lows: friends, not-friends, and classmates who think the school year is just one long gross-out session. It soon becomes clear that Raina’s tummy trouble isn’t going away… and it coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships.
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Author: Raina Telgemeier
Recommended Ages: 8-12
Some Kind of Happiness
Finley Hart is spending the summer with grandparents she’s never met–and trying to ignore her “blue days.”
Her only retreat is the Everwood, a forest kingdom that exists in the pages of her notebook. Until she discovers the endless woods behind her grandparents’ house and realizes the Everwood is real—and holds more mysteries than she’d ever imagined, including a family of pirates that she isn’t allowed to talk to, trees covered in ash, and a strange old wizard living in a house made of bones.
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Author: Claire LeGrand
Recommended Ages: 8-12
The Science of Breakable Things
When Natalie’s science teacher suggests that she enter an egg drop competition, she thinks it could be the perfect solution to all of her problems. With the prize money, she can fly her botanist mother to see the miraculous Cobalt Blue Orchids–flowers with the resilience to survive against impossible odds. Her mother has been suffering from depression, and Natalie is positive that the flowers’ magic will inspire her mom to fall in love with life again.
Buy it here.
Author: Tae Keller
Recommended Ages: 8-12
Finding Audrey
Audrey wears dark glasses all the time, even in the house. She almost never goes out, doesn’t talk to new people, and finds making eye contact to be nearly impossible.
But then one day she meets Linus. Linus is her brother’s friend and a sensitive spirit with whom she can talk through her fears. He makes her laugh and doesn’t leave her feeling like she’s being judged.
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Author: Sophie Kinsella
Recommended Ages: 14+
Turtles All the Way Down
Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis.
Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
Buy it here.
Author: John Green
Recommended Ages: 14+
Highly Illogical Behavior
Sixteen-year-old Solomon has agoraphobia. He hasn’t left his house in 3 years. Ambitious Lisa is desperate to get into a top-tier psychology program. And so when Lisa learns about Solomon, she decides to befriend him, cure him, and then write about it for her college application. To earn Solomon’s trust, she introduces him to her boyfriend Clark, and starts to reveal her own secrets. But what started as an experiment leads to a real friendship, with all three growing close.
Buy it here.
Author: John Corey Whaley
Recommended Ages: 14+