Bibliotherapy can be such a fun way to connect with kids, especially ones who love “story time”. Books provide a visual way for the kids to interact with the subject matter. While reading, you can pause to ask questions about their personal experiences and how it relates to the characters in the story. Below are a few books that can be helpful in starting those conversations.
Just a Thought by Jason Gruhl
This book is approachable, even for our kiddos of a younger age! With beautiful illustrations and rhyming sentences on each page, it’s easy to keep the reader engaged. The author goes through what thoughts are and where they come from. It then goes on to teach a valuable lesson about how our thoughts come and go, and they do not define us. It utilizes some DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) principles of noticing your thoughts without judgment and visualizing them passing by. Bonus content alert! There is a fun, kid-friendly, meditation at the end of the book to practice and apply learning!
The Worry (Less) Book by Rachel Brian
What I love most about this book is it’s laid out like a graphic novel. It’s silly and fun illustrations are the kind that make kids giggle and can be relatable. There are 8 chapters in this book that cover what anxiety is, identifying anxiety, strategies for responding to anxiety, growing our comfort zones, and finding support. It is chalked full of useful information to start the conversation about anxiety and ways to battle it!
All About Anxiety by Carrie Lewis
This is a meatier book, more on the educational side, and not the type of book you would sit down to read together in one setting. This book would best be approached in small chunks, but is worth making the list because of all of the valuable information it shares. Even if the adults were to read this on their own, it could help them better understand what their kids are going through and how to communicate about it! At the end, there is a great list of resources, including websites, helplines, and organizations.
50 Ways to Feel Happy by Vanessa King, with Val Payne and Peter Harper
This book is less about anxiety, but more about fun activities to engage in with your kids that could be beneficial to fight against their anxiety. Focusing on incorporating positive and proactive actions into your day to day is a great way to shift their focus. This book shares 50 different activities with step-by-step instructions that promote happiness.
