THE BEST THERAPEUTIC CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Expand your bookshelf with the best children’s books about feelings, therapy, and more!
As an art therapist, I use a lot of different tools in my practice. One thing I love about working with kids is they are open to learning and exploring through many creative means - including literature. So if you’ve been looking for some “therapist approved” books for your small ones about big feelings, look no further, I’ve got you!
The best book for preparing your child to go to therapy (ages 3-5)
So you’ve made your first therapy appointment for your toddler - now what? Many parents assume their kiddo will know what therapy is, or know what to do in therapy. Let me tell you - they don’t! This book is the perfect way to explain what a therapist (the rabbit) is there for - to listen!
In this book, the main character, Taylor, experiences something that makes him/her/them mad. Lots of animals try to come over to help by offering suggestions on what Taylor should do - but not the rabbit. The rabbit comes in and is present, provides a safe space for the child, and waits until the child is ready to talk about their experience. Once Taylor feels safe talking about their experience, they are then able to explore and process the ways in which they might want to respond.
I can’t tell you how much I love this book! I even read it to my daughter’s preschool class to explain what I do as a “feelings helper” when they were learning about feelings in school. It also led to some great conversations about things that made them (and a lot of times their parents) mad.
2. The best book for reminding kids that they don’t have to be defined by their traumatic experiences (ages 4-8)
In this book, the main character, a sunflower seed, explains all the ways in which he is “bad.” He realizes that he wasn’t always this way, but a traumatic experience served as the catalyst for his inclination to bad behavior. Along his journey, he realizes that he doesn’t have to be bad - that he can choose to be good too - sometimes. This story reminds us that we don’t have to be defined by our experiences, and just because bad things happen to us, doesn’t mean we are bad. It is a story of resiliency, overcoming negative experiences, and making positive change - another A+ for me!
3. The best books to improve your child’s emotional intelligence (ages 2-6)
This series is a great way for kids to grow their emotional I.Q. — in both their ability to identify their own emotions, and in their ability to identify emotions in others. The ones listed here are the “basic” emotions, but if you’re looking for more nuanced emotions, they also have other books with more “advanced” emotions, like this one:
4. The best book for eloquently describing emotions (ages 2-5)
This book talks about feelings in a way that’s easy for kids to understand. It also describes each feeling metaphorically (i.e. when you’re sad your heart “feels heavy as an elephant,” when you’re mad your heart “screams hot and loud”). It also normalizes the idea that a diverse portfolio of emotions can live inside you, and that’s normal!
5. The best book for self-acceptance and encouraging non-conformity (ages 2-6)
I came upon this book by accident; my husband rescued it from being thrown in the trash when he was in grad school, and it sat on our shelf for the next 6 years unread. But once we had a kid, we popped that sucker out - (the book, not the baby - I wish it was that easy), and loved it from the get-go! For the illustrations alone, this book is superb, but above that, it encourages kids to embrace their differences and walk to the beat of their own drum.
6. The best book to introduce mindfulness (ages 3-7)
This book is a great intro to mindfulness and the power of breath work. It highlights the concept that feelings come and go, and don’t stay in our body forever. By focusing on our breathing, we can watch these negative feelings come and go. It also is one of the most multi-culturally representative children’s books out there - another point for diversity!
7. The best book to explain/process a divorce
This book typically gets some mixed reviews for bringing up difficult and complex topics (i.e. there is a scene where a momma dinosaur is drinking a martini and there are spilled pills and alcohol in the background). So if you’re looking for a soft and subtle depiction of divorce—this ain’t it. But here’s why I like it - if your child has been caught in the middle of a contentious divorce, it really emphasizes that it is not the child’s fault, and gives tips on how to navigate living in two households.
Overall, it has great nuggets of wisdom despite some controversial subject matter. For example, “If parents want you to carry messages back and forth, ask them to do it themselves” and “You don’t have to listen when parents say bad things about each other. Say you love them both and hearing this upsets you.” It’s also a good reminder to parents of what not to do - and it highlights what the child might be experiencing or thinking while going through this process.
8. The best book for explaining “good” vs. “bad” secrets
This book is a good starting point to discuss which secrets to keep (a surprise party, a gift) and which to disclose (inappropriate touching, physical violence). It gets some slack for not being as clear as it could be pertaining to sexual abuse, as some abusers use the idea that because abuse can feel pleasurable it is a “good” secret. However, the book will give you, as a parent, a space to talk about secrets in more depth. You may feel comfortable going into more detail with your child about “bad” secrets, or you might not, but it’s a good place to begin. There isn’t a whole lot of literature published on this topic, so it’s at least a good reminder that this is something we should be talking about with our kids.
