There are so many great new Mental Health books for kids and I'm so glad! Between the pandemic and just all of the other pressures that society is putting on kids through the media, mental health challenges are affecting more and more kids at an earlier age. When I look at the students in my class, who are from a fairly affluent neighbourhood, with parents who work full time, many at professional careers, and own multiple vehicles and houses, I'm reminded that mental health can affect anyone, no matter how "easy" their life may be.
When it comes to teaching Grade 3s about mental health, there are lots of different programs and resources out there with lesson plans and videos on youtube and even programs that receive endorsements from NHL teams like Project 11 (with the Winnipeg Jets)! All of these are great and important, but in general the messages are the same, the lessons are the same and the kids still need a lot more help. I think that one of the first steps is normalizing it and reminding children that they are not the only ones dealing with these emotions and there are people out there to help. One of the best avenues for distributing this message is through children's books! I'm looking forward to purchasing copies of lots of these books below for my classroom library and I think you should look into them too!
Big Problem, Little Problem
By: Ben Feller
This picture book demonstrates that there are ranges of types of problems and that with support of an adult, children can address large problems and can begin to address smaller problems with increasing independence by determining how big a problem is. As the father tries to get his child ready and out the door one morning, many problems occur. After working together to solve the problems and determining that they are really not that big of problems, the child ends up teaching his father that a problem is not so big after all. It is a very sweet book and a great opportunity for parents and teachers of young children to discuss problems and how to solve them. I would recommend this book for parents and teachers of children in the age 4-8 range.
Buster's Trip to Victory Lane
By: Dale Earhardt Jr.
This picture book, written by a NASCAR driver tells the story of a race car who has some worries. When another car notices him looking worried he reminds him that mistakes are good, and they teach us something that we need to learn. This positive message of growth mindset helps the car go on to compete in a race and do his best! I think that this is a great book and that the message it sends is an important one. Lots of kids struggle with worries and this book will reach a whole new group of kids because it is about something as cool as race cars! I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 4-9 range, especially those who struggle with too many worries!
By: Bonnie Zucker (1)
By: Lenka Glassman (2)
These two books are very similar but written by two authors and are on two different topics. The first book is a guide for middle grade/middle school children who would benefit from more information about social dynamics and healthy relationships with peers. It is divided into 10 chapters, and is a little over 200 pages which include diagrams and illustrations. While intended to be read by young teens and preteens, it is also a great reference or resource for adults working with this age group. The second book contains information about mood and emotions, negative thoughts, stress and anxiety. It is divided into 10 chapters, and is close to 300 pages which include diagrams and illustrations.
In each book the authors do an equally great job of describing scenarios that are likely to happen to middle grade youth, including the use of social media platforms like tiktok, current tv shows and present day slang/acronyms like "straight up" and FOMO. The author's explanations and definitions are very easy to understand and are written in a way that will help middle graders understand without being condescending or making them feel that they are little kids. She also summarizes each chapter with "take aways" and includes some short activities in text boxes that encourage readers to reflect, and quizzes (think teen magazine quiz) that help readers consider specific scenarios that relate to their life and relationships. Additionally, the use of fun fonts, simple illustrations, easy to understand diagrams will help keep readers interested.
In Kid Confident #1 I love that there are both positive and negative examples so that readers can identify what they should expect or how they should behave as well as recognize when something happened that was not ok and how it could be better dealt with in the future. It is important to show youth both the negative and the positive version of situations to help them identify which of their current relationships are positive. For example, young people may be so concerned with "being popular" that they may ignore being mistreated by someone, thinking that this is ok, if they can't see that there are other ways to be treated, they may not know when to stand up for themselves. Additionally, it may give readers a chance to reflect on their own negative interactions, for example times they may have said something that is hurtful, and realize what they could have done/said instead. Seeing both sides rather than just negative or just positive will be helpful for young people to begin to identify what healthy relationships with friends should look like so they can be aspired to, as well as what unhealthy relationships look like so that they can be avoided.
And in Kid Confident #2 I think it is great that emotions and the Limbic system are both heavily featured. Young people often can only name a few emotions such as mad, sad, happy, and may not realize that there are many different ways that you can feel and why you feel the way you do in particular situations. In my experience, a lot of young people are really interested in the way that our brain works, such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, so I think that will be something readers will be interested in when reading this book.
When considering both books, I do think that the length of the book/amount of text may be a bit off putting for some middle schoolers. If a reader is really motivated to read these books to learn about social challenges and how to overcome them, or emotions, mood swings and what is causing them, then I think they will be interested in these books and read them all the way through but I'm not sure about those readers who might really need this information but not be as motivated. As a grade 3 teacher, I can think of some former students who are now in the grade 4-8 level that could definitely benefit from reading this book. Some of them I think would gladly dive in and read all about things like power differential and negative thought patterns, but others might be put off by how much text there is to read. I like that the book is broken up into chapters, has a variety of text boxes and illustrations and activities to break up the text a bit, but I'm not sure that all middle school aged students would stay interested throughout the book. I'm wondering if maybe having a companion text, like a magazine or shorter books may be better received. I'm not a publisher, so who knows, but from the perspective of a teacher considering specific students who I know would benefit from this book, I'm not sure how it would be received.
I would love to have a teacher's companion text with some lessons or activities though! I think that the background info and scenarios in this book are so great that I can definitely find ways to incorporate them into lessons, even with my Grade 3s who are a bit younger than the intended audience. I would highly recommend this book to parents of children in the age 9-13 range who are struggling with social challenges at school such as bullying, difficulty maintaining friendships or social anxiety. I think that teachers and guidance counsellors could use parts of this book as well when working with individual students, small groups or potentially even whole class activities.
Avocado Feels a Pit Worried
By: Brenda Miles
This children's picture book tells the story of a very worried avocado who spends a lot of time thinking about what ifs. It shows the negative side to being stuck at home worried, including feelings of isolation and fear of it never ending, but it also shows the positives of trying strategies such as breathing, asking for help and trying scary things, like climbing a tree or going to a party.
I think this is a fabulous book to help normalize anxiety in young children, while also showing that there are ways to deal with that worry in the pit of your stomach and some really great positives to addressing your fears and anxieties. Finally, being clear that no matter what you are afraid of, you don't have to deal with it alone, is such an important sentiment and is a large part of the second half of the book. Anxiety can be very isolating, and young children who don't know why they feel the way they do can feel even more lonely and afraid, it is my hope that this book could help open that discussion between young people and their caregivers or teachers by relating to what happens to Avi the Avocado.
I would absolutely recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 4-10 range. I think that it would be a great addition to my classroom library and could see using it as part of mental health lessons.
What Feelings Do When No One's Looking
By: Tina Oziewicz
Wow! This is such a cool book! Each page shows a picture of a creature who personifies a feeling or emotion. Accompanying the picture is 1-2 short lines of text naming the feeling and describing what it does. For example, fear is hiding (camouflaged) because often those who are afraid hide (freeze in fight, flight, freeze) and maybe also because people try to hide their fears from others - not wanting to let anyone in. Another example (my favourite lol) is nostalgia sniffs a scarf and in the picture we only see the back of nostalgia as they are looking at pictures framed on a wall of similar looking creatures wearing the scarf. Super cute lol. I think parents and kids would enjoy this book together. I also think that this would be a fabulous introduction to lessons on emotions, especially because there are so many different emotions described, many of which some children may have never heard of! The book ends with a reminder that all of these emotions are within all of us. I think that normalizing the fact that we experience a range of emotions daily is very important for even very young children. I could definitely see this book in my classroom library and would recommend it to parents and teachers of children in the age 4-10 range. I could also see it as part of a project for older children to look at figurative language and emotions that they may not know about such as nostalgia or longing. I will definitely head out to pick up a copy once it is published!
Sammi Super Snapper
By: Rachel Williams
Rachel Williams, a teen author and recovering from her own nail biting habit, wrote this book aimed at preteen and teen girls who also suffer from biting their nails. From demonstrating how common nail biting is, and how you are not alone, as well as the health risks related to, and the benefits of stopping, nail biting in a relatively positive and optimistic tone, this book shows girls that they can stop and that it will be a positive change. Using the concept of 21 days to form or break a habit, this book also includes a 30+ day journal for writing about successes and challenges and planning goals. As a teacher, I would definitely recommend this book to students and their families who want to stop nail biting habits, or potentially other anxiety related habits that can be hard to stop. The book is recommended for girls in the 8-16 age range and I think that is a very appropriate estimation.
Fear Not!
By: Christina Furnival
This beautifully illustrated picture book normalizes and explains anxiety in a way that young children can relate to and understand. The book talks about what doesn't work, such as hiding your emotions and ignoring your anxiety and gives three steps, acknowledging the fear, remembering it will pass and using a tool/strategy, that will work to reduce the anxiety. the book ends with some information for adults working with children who are coping with anxiety. As a grade 3 teacher I think this book would be perfect for families of children struggling with fear and anxiety, especially in this post-pandemic world. I would recommend this book to teachers, parents and other support workers working with children in the 5-11 age range.
All of the books I reviewed in this post were books that I received free electronic ARCs on NetGalley with the support of their publishers. I am choosing to share them with you here because I truly believe these will be great books for classrooms everywhere!
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