View All
View All
View All
View All
View All
View All
View All
View All
View All
Zap anxiety, stress and worries at any age with these great reads.
Hong Kong’s chaotic energy can only make kids who suffer from stress and anxiety even more on edge. Moving (to or from Hong Kong), schoolwork, social distancing, friendship issues – all of these factors can adversely affect children, and when that happens, it’s hard to know how to deal with them. Whether your child is in primary or secondary school, we’ve come up with a helpful list of books they can either read to themselves or you can read with them, to help them manage these thoughts and emotions. Many provide methods or exercises to help children learn to deal with common stressors and to help them calm themselves down when they need to.
Jump to:
Books For Younger Kids (Age 5 to 8)
Books For Older Kids (Age 8 to 12)
Anxiety Books For Teenagers
Read more: Our Favourite Book Recommendations By Age: From 4 To 14+
Books For Younger Kids (age 5 to 8)
The Secret To Clara’s Calm By Tamara Levitt
Is your child happy until something doesn’t go his or her way? Then this is the book for them! Clara loses her temper so much she loses her friends. The Secret To Clara’s Calm highlights how Clara’s visiting friend teaches her how to calm herself with meditation.
Available at Book Depository
Wemberly Worried By Kevin Henkes
Worry, worry, worry – sound familiar? If you’ve got a little worrier on your hands, this book will resonate with him (or her). By the same author who wrote Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, this is the story of a little mouse who worries night and day, up until the day she starts school. Its message is not to let the little things weigh you down.
Available at Book Depository
David And The Worry Beast: Helping Children Cope With Anxiety By Anne Marie Guanci
David missed a basket during a big game and worried he would do it again. This book shows kids they’re not alone and offers tips for dealing with anxiety. When they see it works for David, they may think it will work for them! There are helpful resources pages in the back for both kids and parents.
Available at Amazon
The ABCs of Yoga For Kids By Teresa Anne Power
This book isn’t about anxiety or stress, but when children get a look at the illustrations and poses, they will forget their worries and nama-stay in the moment! It teaches kids how to breathe deeply and encourages young ones to practise yoga daily (the poses are tried, tested and approved by a Sassy Mama’s kids!).
Available at Book Depository
Read more: Children’s Books: Best Modern Fairytales To Empower Sassy Girls And Boys
Books For Older Kids (age 8 to 12)
Happiness Doesn’t Come From Headstands By Tamara Levitt
This is a great lesson about trying and failing, and how both are part of success. It also helps teach kids that happiness comes from within, not from your achievements. Happiness Doesn’t Come From Headstands is a story about a little girl who tries her best but still fails, and it will resonate with every kid out there.
Available at Book Depository
Stress Can Really Get On Your Nerves By Trevor Romain
Nail biting, stomach aches, headaches, sleep loss – these are all indications of stress and/or anxiety. As the book suggests, stress is extremely tough on your body and learning how to manage it is important to your health. Starting with a fun “stress test” to test your own stress level, this book also offers simple steps to help kids manage their stress levels and keep it in check.
Available at Book Depository
Coping Skills For Kids Workbook By Janine Halloran
Often times we get annoyed with kids for losing their temper but we never teach them the skills to stay calm when they are angry. This workbook helps teach children to balance their energy and emotions, and process their feelings.
Available on Book Depository
The Survival Guide for Kids with Behaviour Challenges: How to Make Good Choices And Stay Out Of Trouble By Thomas McIntyre PhD.
Life is all about making choices, and how you go about doing that is really important! This book teaches kids how their better behaviour will allow them to make and keep friends, get along with others and feel good about themselves when they make better choices.
Available at Book Depository
Read more: The Best Children’s Books That Celebrate Diversity
Anxiety Books For Teenagers
The Anxiety Survival Guide For Teens By Jennifer Shannon And Doug Shannon
When your kids are older, the last thing they want to do is have you tell them what to do. That’s why books like these are a way to get your point across without having to talk about it. The author bases this anxiety book on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and helps readers identify their “monkey mind” – the primitive part of the brain where anxious thoughts arise. It allows kids to see what type of issues they may have – generalised anxiety, phobias, social anxiety, panic and agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or separation anxiety – and teaches methods on how to deal with them.
Available at Book Depository
A Still Quiet Place for Teens: A Mindfulness Workbook to Ease Stress and Difficult Emotions By Amy Saltzman, MD
This is a good one for tweens, as it offers a comprehensive guide to help kids manage daily stressors and challenges using mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques (MBSR).
Available at Book Depository
Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens By Sheri Van Dijk
So often kids think what they feel is bad, and when they do, it can turn into a downward spiral of negative emotions and self-deprecation. This book helps teach kids that all feelings are normal; it’s how you deal with those emotions that makes the difference. Offering simple techniques to help kids calm themselves and stay mindful in difficult situations, manage out-of-control emotions, reduce the pain of intense emotions and get along better with family and friends.
Available at Book Depository
Self-Esteem Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help You Build Confidence and Achieve Your Goals By Lisa Schab
At the root of most emotional issues is low self-esteem. And this workbook allows teens to take a good look at their strengths and weaknesses, and allow them to accept themselves for who they are. It also features practical exercises to help kids hone their skills for dealing with criticism and much more.
Available at Book Depository
Mindfulness Skills for Kids & Teens Workbook for Clinicians & Clients by Debra Burdick
Written specifically for kids and adolescents, this practical workbook offers a collection of more than 150 proven tools and techniques, as well as tools for explaining mindfulness and neurobiology in kids’ language. There are activities, games, and meditations to help build mindfulness skills, and step-by-step instructions on teaching and practising mindfulness, meditation and reflection.
Available at Book Depository
Read more: Raising A Reader: How To Instil A Love of Reading To Your Child
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on 31, July 2018 and updated on 9, October 2020.
