One of the themes I’ve noticed in kids’ books this year has been more of a willingness to talk about mental health issues. I’m taking a broad definition here: I’ve seen books on anxiety and OCD and depression, but also ones about ADHD and emotional awareness. I’m glad that these issues are being written about in books for kids, and I hope that they will contribute to a better understanding and acceptance of mental health, especially in children.
Here are some of the books I’ve discovered in this year’s books:
Calm
by Dr. Jillian Roberts
Orca Books
Shady Baby Feels: A First Book of Emotions
by Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, illustrated by Tara Nicole Whitaker
Orca Books
The Big Scream
by Kirsti Call, illustrated by Denis Angelov
Little Simon
Avocado Feels a Pit Worried
by Brenda Miles, illustrated by Monika Filipina
Magination Press
“The story is written by a clinical pediatric neuropsychologist, and that lends the story scientific credibility (or at least as much scientific credibility as you can get with a story about a group of avocadoes…lol).” – Deb Nance at Readerbuzz
How to Party Like a Snail
by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier
Owlkids Books
Let the Monster Out
by Chad Lucas
Harry N Abrams
“This is a satisfyingly scary mystery that still addresses important and relevant topics – another winner from the author of Thanks a Lot, Universe.” – Katy K.
Moonflower
by Kacen Callender
Scholastic
A Perfect Mistake
by Melanie Conklin
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet
by Barbara Dee
Aladdin
Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet
by Barbara Dee
Aladdin
The Science of Being Angry
by Nicole Melleby
Algonquin Young Readers
This is an excellent graphic novel for a couple of reasons. First, it’s great that it shows anxiety as something “other” – it was a little weird to get used to at first, but eventually, I did. I think it’s beneficial because kids will realize that anxiety is not “them” but something outside of their control.
Button Pusher
by Tyler Page< br/>
First Second Books
“An informative and outstanding introduction for middle graders to understanding ADHD.” – Rosemary Kiladitis
Just Roll with It
by Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie< br />
Random House Graphic
“As a person with diagnosed OCD, I was astounded by the detail and accuracy of Maggie’s symptoms—the feeling of frustration when the compulsion makes you do things you don’t want to do, but you have no choice…the connection to physical objects and repetitive behaviors (Maggie’s “hello, house!” ritual reminded me a lot of my own nervous knock-on-wood rituals)…the “magical thinking,” as it’s known, where you feel like your compulsion is preventing something awful from happening, even though you know logically they couldn’t possibly be related except by coincidence…even the moments where you personify an inanimate object and don’t want it to suffer (I have literally been talking about that in therapy so much lately).” – Max at Completely Full Bookshelf
Living With Viola
by Rosena Fung< br />
Annick Press
“This is an excellent graphic novel for a couple of reasons. First, it’s great that it shows anxiety as something “other” – it was a little weird to get used to at first, but eventually, I did. I think it’s beneficial because kids will realize that anxiety is not “them” but something outside of their control.” – Melissa Fox
A Tale as Tall as Jacob
by Samantha Edwards
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting
by Kindra Neely< br />
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
“Dealing with suicide, panic and anxiety attacks as well as discrimination, this graphic memoir covers a lot of ground and leaves the question open as to how we can still feel so numb to these stories as a nation.” – Kristen
A Study in Terminal
by Kara Linaburg, Haley Hwang(
Monarch Educational Services
Freeze Frame
by Tyler Beauchamp(
Happy Self Publishing