Ten Children's Books for Your Anxious Elementary Schooler That Promote Coping Skills
Welcome! Within the series, a list of recommended books is provided based on therapeutic need to encourage parent-child communication and promote coping skills. Coping skills are adaptive actions that people take to bring themselves comfort and control.
An example of a coping skill is: You feel your stomach in knots and your heartbeat racing and so you utilize ten deep breaths, focusing on the count of your exhalations, until you feel your body relaxing to a less anxious state. The coping skills utilized were breathing and mindfulness.
Literature is a great way to connect and drum up conversation! At the time of this blog’s posting, all the books listed can be found as read aloud books on YouTube, which may be a helpful supplement as you grow your child’s library.
Many of the books listed feature coping skills being taught within therapy sessions. These include the utilization of breath, mindfulness, mindset reframing, utilizing support systems, and acknowledging worry rather than pushing it away. Many of these books utilize metaphors to represent worry, making these coping skills more relatable for young children. Many of them also feature empowerment, highlighting that children can take charge of their anxiety by utilizing these skills to attain relief. I think that it’s important too, to have characters that they can relate to, to know that others feel the same way that they do.
Beneficial Children’s Books for Anxiety
Below is a list of ten children’s books that address anxiety that I utilize within my own sessions. Below each title, I have listed key takeaways from each story that I think may be beneficial to focus on with your child.
Some questions to ask may be centered around:
Can your child relate to the main character? Would they like to share about a time when they could relate?
What did the character do to feel better? Has your child tried this skill? What do they think about it? Have they given the skill enough tries to make a fair determination about whether the skill was helpful?
How can you help when they are feeling similar feelings as the character?
How did the character persevere?
“Ruby Finds a Worry”
by Tom Percival
Key take-aways: Others worry too! Everyone worries here and there; always will. Talking about our worries makes them shrink.
“My Magic Breath: Find Calm Through Mindful Breathing”
by Nick Ortner
Key take-aways: Utilizing “magic breath” to combat our busy minds. Using your breath when happy, sad, mad, or worried and why it’s helpful.
“What to Do When You Worry Too Much”
by Dawn Huebner
Key take-aways: Uses writing and drawing activities to help with worry.
“The WhatIfs”
by Emily Kilgore
Key take-aways: Character used deep breaths, support from her friend, and positive thoughts to change how she was feeling.
“The Don’t Worry Book”
by Todd Parr
Key take-aways: This is a good book for our littlest worriers! Normalizing worry and offering ideas to feel better.
“Brave Every Day”
by Trudy Ludwig
Key take-aways: Using social support, trying things that are scary anyway.
“Puppy in My Head: A Book About Mindfulness”
by Elise Gravel
Key take-aways: A cute metaphor between a child’s mind and a puppy. Encouraging children to pay attention to their feelings and utilize mindfulness.
“When Worry Takes Hold”
by Liz Haske
Key take-aways: Using courage and breath work to gain power.
“Wilma Jean the Worry Machine”
by Julia Cook
Key take-aways: Thinking about what we can and cannot control.
“Catching Thoughts”
by Bonnie Clark
Key take-aways: Embracing positive thoughts.
If you and your child give these books a try, be sure to let us know what you think! Story time can be a great way to spend time together, start conversation, and learn new coping strategies together. It’s also a great way to continue the work being done in weekly therapy sessions at home.
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Disclaimer
Please know that the books and resources on this page are affiliate links, and we may receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links. Of course, there’s no additional fee for you if you choose to make a purchase from one of these links. All of these books have been added to this list because they have been read and recommended by at least one of our Maryland-based therapists. Any commission received will be added to a fund to go towards our staff members’ training.
Written by: Caroline Masucci, LMSW
Caroline is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) at LifeSpring Counseling Services in Maryland, and she specializes in anxiety, depression, trauma, and communication skills. She works closely with children, teens, and adults.
