Here are a few top recommendations of children’s books in the topic of mental health
The Princess and the Fog: A Story for Children with Depression
Author & Illustrator: Lloyd Jones
Contributors: Melinda Edwards, Linda Bayliss
Published by Jessica Kingslet Publishers in 2015
What is it about?
The Princess and the Fog is the story of a young princess who is enjoying her life, that is, until the fog sets in. The fog gives the princess dark and sad thoughts and she starts to feel like she can’t escape from it. With the help of her family and friends, the princess is able to prevent the fog from taking her over, realizing it’s the support of her friends and family that will ensure the fog never poses a serious danger again.
Core Integration
This book could certainly be used in English arts for students. Examining this book for its plot, characters and its details can help students build up their ability to examine and analyze literature. An example would be reading this book to the students, having a book talk with them throughout the read aloud where you discuss what’s happening in the story and what the children are noticing. After the class is done reading the book, they’ll return to their desks and fill out a worksheet that concerns details about the plot and characters from the book and multiple questions about how the book made them feel and/or what they’ve learned from the story.
What To Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety
Author: Dawn Huebner
Illustrator: Bonnie Matthews
Published by Magination Press, 2006
What is it about?
This book/story is a guide for children to read to work through anxiety. It teaches kids skills of what to do when they feel anxiety, for example, a chapter is called “Talking Back to Worries”. This would be a good book to use for students around grade 2, because of the way it’s formatted. It’s made into a story-like book, where you can follow along in it like a story, or jump around from chapter to chapter if wanted. It also presents the feelings of anxiety in a relatable way for children. Some pages even include interactive spots, where students could create a list of their worries, or draw themselves talking back to their worries. Exercises like these are extremely helpful for students to use to visualize.
Core Integration
This book could certainly be used as a non-fiction text, as it gives actual concrete advise of what to when facing worries and stress. I could see using this book as a weekly reading, where the teacher reads from one chapter each week. For example, the teacher could read one chapter, like “Making Worries Go Away” to the whole class in a read-aloud time. Then as a class, they can work from the activity in the back of the chapter, on the white board to discuss ideas of what to do to make worries go away. There are great vocabulary opportunities within the chapter as well, for example the word “logic” could be introduced to students. The teacher could give an example of something they worry about, and then talk through how to think about things logically. If students feel comfortable to share to the whole class, this could be a whole class activity where they share their worries, or this can be taken back to their desks and discussed later on in 1-1 meetings with the teacher.
NHES Standards
- Demonstrate appropriate ways to express emotions. H4.So4.2
- Understand relationship between emotions and behaviors. H1.So4.2
- Demonstrate effective refusal skills to avoid participating in emotionally unhealthy behaviors MEH4.2.3
- Identify causes of stress. H1.So3.2a
- Describe stress management techniques. H1.So3.2b
Curriculum Standards
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.