Picture Books About Mental Health

Check out these books if you're looking for a way to help talk to your child about mental health issues, like anxiety or depression

Updated June 19, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Molalla Library
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Sometimes when I'm sad
Serani, Deborah
Paper Book
A sensitive and supportive story to help young children recognize and cope with sadness. "Now when I get sad, I still cry sometimes. I still hide sometimes. But only for a little while. Because now I know ways to feel better." Sadness can be an overwhelming emotion,...
Pockets full of rocks
Engelberg, Yair
Paper Book
This gentle, hopeful book will help kids cope with a parent's mental illness. As a young girl gently questions her depressed father, he offers direct answers that help her understand what he is going through and promotes the hope that he will become his old self again. This...
When sadness is at your door
Eland, Eva
Paper Book
A comforting primer in emotional literacy and mindfulness that suggests we approach the feeling of sadness as if it is our guest. Sadness can be scary and confusing at any age! When we feel sad, especially for long periods of time, it can seem as if the sadness is a part of who...
There was a hole
Lehrhaupt, Adam
Paper Book
Lily has a hole. It eats her joy, makes her angry, and--no matter what Daddy does to try to help--it just keeps growing. So Lily retreats. But a friend lets her in on a secret (he has a hole too!) and shows her the best way to repair holes: spend time on friends, family, the things you love,...
The big worry day
Reynolds, K. A.
Paper Book
A girl and her dog find ways to deal with her anxiety in this beautiful debut picture book A little girl is convinced that her dog worries, just like her. With a whole day ahead of them, she'll need to figure out how to soothe them both. She prepares snacks, first aid, and even a...
The worry box
Chiew, Suzanne
Paper Book
Murray Bear is supposed to go to the waterfall with his sister, Molly, to meet a friend, but Murray is worried. "What if it's too LOUD?" he cries "Or what if I get swept away!" So Molly tells him about her special worry box. "When I'm worried about something," she says, "I write it down, then put it...
Hello, dark
Wong, Wai Mei
Paper Book
In a reassuring bedtime book perfectly pitched to ease sleep anxiety, a little boy overcomes his worries by befriending the darkness. A little boy faces his fear of the dark by engaging in a conversation with it. Imagining the dark as a friendly shadow creature, the boy comes to the...

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