Resources for Kids: Mental and Behavioral Health

These books and other resources can help younger kids to better understand emotions, mental states, and behavioral health in general:

• Dragons on the Inside and Other Big Feelings, by Valerie Coulman

• Ellie on the Mat, by Danielle Marie Price

• Even Superheroes Have Bad Days, by Jo Witek

• The Feelings Book, by Todd Parr

• Feel Your Feelings, by Scott Stoll and Sara Williams

• The Grand Hotel of Feelings, by Linda Brankovic

• I'm Happy-Sad Today, by Lory Britian

• Listening to My Body, by Gabi Garcia

• My Body Sends a Signal, by Natalia Maguire

• My NO NO NO Day, by Rebecca Patterson

• The Noise Inside Boys, by Pete Oswald

• Out of a Jar, by Anna Juster

• I Want to Be Mad for Awhile!, by Barney Saltzburg

• A Shelter for Sadness, by Anne Booth

• Tough Guys Have Feelings Too, by Keith Negley

• When I See Red, by Britta Teckentrup

• When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Really Angry, by Molly Bang

• You Are Your Strong, by Danielle Dufayet

• You, Me, and Empathy, by Jayneen Sanders

• Your Fantastic Elastic Brain, by JoAnn Deak

These books and other resources can help older kids and teens to better understand emotions, mental states, and behavioral health in general:

• Absolutely Normal: Short Stories that Smash Mental Health Stereotypes, by Nora Shalaway and Rocky Callen

• The DBT Skills Workbook for Teens, by Teen Thrive

• (Don't) Call Me Crazy, by Kelly Jensen

• Growing Feelings, by Eileen Kennedy-Moore

• Inside Out: Driven By Emotions, by Elise Allen

• This Book is a Safe Space, by Amy Tran

• Where to Start: A Survival Guide to Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Health Challenges, by Mental Health America

• Wonderfully Wired Brains, by Louise Gooding

• Your Amazing Teen Brain, by Elisa Nebolsine

These books and resources can help children to understand attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD):

• Ada Twist, Scientist, by Andrea Beaty

• Clark the Shark, by Bruce Hale

• Corey Stories, by Jeanne Kraus

• Executive Functioning Workbook for Kids, by Sharon Grand

• My Life with ADHD, by Mari Shuh

• The Adventures of Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey

• The Best of Iggy, by Annie Barrows

• A Kid's Book About ADHD, by Elly Both

• No, David!, by David Shannon

• School Trip Squirmies, by L.M. Nicodemo

• Stop and Smell the Cookies, by Gibson Frazier

• Thriving with ADHD Workbook for Kids, by Kelli Miller

• Where's Rodney?, by Carmen Bogan

These books and resources can help older kids and teens to understand attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD):

• ADHD is Awesome, by Kim and Penn Holderness

• ADHD Is Our Superpower, by Soli Lazarus

• The Best of Iggy, by Annie Barrows

• Different Thinkers: ADHD, by Katia Frederikson and Yael Rothman

• Focused, by Alyson Gerber

• Hank Zipzer, by Henry Winkler

• It's the End of the World and I'm in my Bathing Suit, by Justin Reynolds

• Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, by Jack Gantos

• Marvin's Monster Diary books, by Raun Melmed

• Sidetracked, by Diana Asher

• The Survival Guide for Kids with ADHD, by John Taylor

• Thriving with ADHD Workbook for Teens, by Allison Tyler

• Trouble With a Tiny T, by Merriam Saunders

These books and other resources can help younger children (ages ~3-8) to understand anxiety disorders:

• A Case of the Zaps, by Alex Boniello and April Lavalle

• Don't Feed the Worry Bug, by Andi Green

• The Dot, by Peter Reynolds

• The Fix-It Friends: Have No Fear!, by Nicole Kear

• Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective, by Elizabeth Olsen and Robbie Arnett

• Hector's Favorite Place, by Jo Rooks

• How Big Are Your Worries, Little Bear?, by Jayneen Sanders

• How to Train Your Amygdala, by Anna Juster

• The I'm Not Scared Book, by Todd Parr

• Ish, by Peter Reynolds

• A Kid's Book About Anxiety, by Ross Szabo

• Pilar's Worries, by Victoria Sanchez

• Ruby Finds a Worry, by Tom Percival

• Taco Falls Apart, by Brenda Miles

• Tengo un nudo en la barriga, by Alberto Soler

• What to Do When You Worry Too Much, by Dawn Huebner

• Wemberly Worried, by Kevin Henkes

These books and other resources can help older children and teens to understand anxiety disorders:

• The Beasts in Your Brain, by Katherine Speller

• The Calm Workbook, by Imogen Harrison

• Dear Student, by Elly Swartz

• The Fix-It Friends: Have No Fear!, by Nicole Kear

• Forever is Now, by Mariama Lockington

• Good Different, by Meg Kuyatt

• The Grip, by Marcus Stroman

• Guts, by Raina Telgemeier

• Outsmarting Worry, by Dawn Huebner

• Stanley Will Probably Be Fine, by Sally J. Pla

• Superpowered: Transform Anxiety into Courage, Confidence, and Resilience, by Renee Jain and Shefali Tsabary

• Where to Start: A Survival Guide to Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Health Challenges, by Mental Health America

• The Worry (Less) Book, by Rachel Brian

These books and other resources can help children to understand autism spectrum disorder (ASD):

• All My Stripes, by Shaina Rudolph

• Armond Goes to a Party, by Nancy Carlson

• Benji, the Bad Day, and Me, by Sally Pla

• A Boy Called Bat, by Elana Arnold

• A Day With No Words, by Tiffany Hammond

• Henry, Like Always, by Jenn Bailey

• I'm Here, by Peter Reynolds

• It's Me, Henry!, by Stephanie Deslauriers

• A Friend for Henry, by Jenn Bailey

• Masterpiece, by Alexandra Hoffman

• My Brain is Magic, by Prasha Sooful

• My Brother Charlie, by Holly Peete

• My Whirling, Twirling Motor, by Merriam Saunders

• My Wandering, Dreaming Mind, by Merriam Saunders

• Noah Chases the Wind, by Michelle Worthington

• Oliver, by Birgitta Sif

• Pedro's Whale, by Paula Kluth and Patrick Schwartz

• Since We're Friends, by Celeste Shally

• Too Much!: An Overwhelming Day, by Jolene Gutierrez

• Too Sticky, by Jen Malia

• Uniquely Wired, by Julia Cook

• The Word Collector, by Peter Reynolds

These books and other resources can help older kids and teens to understand autism spectrum disorder (ASD):

• A Bird Will Soar, by Allison Green Myers

• A Boy Called Bat, by Elana Arnold

• Anything But Typical, by Nora Baskin

• The Awesome Autistic Go-To Guide, by Yenn Purkis and Tanya Masterman

• Can You See Me?, by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott

• The Earth is Blue, by Nicole Panteleakos

• The Girl Who Thought in Pictures, by Julia Finley Mosca

• Good Different, by Meg Eden Kuyatt

• The Reason I Jump, by Naoki Higashida

• Rules, by Cynthia Lord

• Slug Days, by Sara Leach

• The Social Survival Guide for Teens on the Autism Spectrum, by Lindsey Sterling

• The Spectrum Girl's Survival Guide, by Siena Castellon

• The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder, by Elizabeth Verdick and Elizabeth Reeve

• Uniquely Wired, by Julia Cook

• A Whole New Ballgame, by Phil Bildner

These books and resources can help younger children to understand depressive disorder:

• The Bear: A Story about Depression, by Nicole Dyson

• A Blue Kind of Day, by Rachel Tomlinson

• Blueloon, by Julia Cook

• Can I Catch It Like a Cold?, by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

• Dark Cloud, by Anna Lazowski

• A Flicker of Hope, by Julia Cook

• The Hyena Who Lost Her Laugh, by Jessica Lamb-Shapiro

• A Kids Book About Depression, by Kileah McIlvain

• Mama's Waves, by Chandra Ippen

• Meh, by Deborah Malcom

• The Princess and the Fog, by Lloyd Jones

• Sadly the Owl, by Linnie von Sky

• Virginia Wolf, by Kyo Mclear

• When Sadness is at Your Door, by Eva Eland

• Why Are You So Sad?, by Beth Andrews

• Why Is Mommy Sad?, by Danielle Caudill

These books can help teens and tweens to understand depressive disorder and its treatment:

• All the Greys on Greene Street, by Laura Tucker

• The Beasts in Your Brain, by Katherine Speller

• Blueloon, by Julia Cook

• Can I Catch It Like a Cold?, by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

• Cursed, by Karol Silverstein

• Darius the Great is Not OK, by Adib Khorram

• Michael Rosen's Sad Book, by Michael Rosen

• Monochrome Days, by Cait Irwin

• My Family Divided, by Diane Guerrero

• Nest, by Esther Ehrlich

• The Science of Breakable Things, by Tae Keller

• The Secret of Nightingale Wood

• Sometimes I'm Sad, by Poppy O'Neill

• Some Kind of Happiness, by Claire Legrand

• Where to Start: A Survival Guide to Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Health Challenges, by Mental Health America

• Why Are You So Sad?, by Beth Andrews

These books and resources can younger kids to understand obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD):

• Chloe and the Bossy Cloud, by Natasha Daniels

• Me: A Worry About OCD, by Holly Niner

• My LIttle Monster, by Marin Canaday

• Standing Up to OCD Workbook for Kids, by Tyson Reuter

• Up and Down the Worry Hill, by Aureen Pinto Wagner

• What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck, by Dawn Huebner

These books and resources can help tweens and teens to understand obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD):

• The Compulsion Cloud, by Averi Castenada

• Everything is an Emergency, by Jason Katzenstein

• Finding Perfect, by Elly Swartz

• Just Roll With It, by Veronical Agarwal

• A Kids Book About OCD, by Hazel Hall

• Mr. Worry, by Holly Niner

• OCDaniel, by Wesley King

• The OCD Workbook for Kids, by Anthony Puliafico and Joanna Robin

• Standing Up to OCD Workbook for Kids, by Tyson Reuter

• Talking Back to OCD, by John March

• Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green

• Up and Down the Worry Hill, by Aureen Pinto Wagner

• What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck, by Dawn Huebner

These books and resources can help younger kids to understand trauma and post-traumatic stress responses:

• EMDR Workbook for Kids, by Christine Mark-Griffin

• Healing Days, by Susan Farber Straus

• Help Your Dragon Cope with Trauma, by Steve Herman

• Once I Was Very, Very Scared, by Chandra Ghosh Ippen

• A Terrible Thing Happened, by Margaret Holmes

• What's Inside Your Backpack?, by Jessica Sinarski

• When Scary, Bad Things Happen, by Erika Arnold-McEwan

These books and resources can help tweens and teens to understand trauma and post-traumatic stress responses:

• Healing Days, by Susan Farber Straus

• Help Your Dragon Cope with Trauma, by Steve Herman

• Killing the Wittigo, by Suzanne Methot

• The PTSD Workbook for Teens,

• The Racial Trauma Handbook for Teens, by Tamara Hill

• The Resilient Brain, by Katianne Olsen

• Trauma, by Robert Edelman

• Trauma is Really Strange, by Steve Haines

• What's Inside Your Backpack?, by Jessica Sinarski

• What About Me?: When Brothers and Sisters Get Sick, by Allen Peterkin

• What to Do When You're Scared and Worried, by James Crist

These books and resources can help younger kids to understand selective mutism:

• Bravery Grows, by Melissa Giglio and Daisy Geddes

• Lola's Words Disappeared, Elaheh Bos

• Maya's Voice, by Wen-Wen Cheng

• The Loudest Roar, by Clair Maskell

• Silent Sam, by A.C.Lee

• Talia Turtle's Brave Bubbles, by Julia Mensh Graham

These books and resources can help younger kids to understand selective mutism:

• Being Brave with Selective Mutism, by Rachel Busman

• Bravery Grows, by Melissa Giglio and Daisy Geddes

• Lola's Words Disappeared, Elaheh Bos

• Talia Turtle's Brave Bubbles, by Julia Mensh Graham

Books, videos, and websites can help kids to understand and accept mental and behavioral health differences in themselves and others. However, these resources can never replace professional care. Families should reach out to their care teams to find therapy and other support for anyone struggling with mental health. Treatment works, and people can get people.

This content was reviewed by a psychologist at Boston Children's Hospital.

Developmental care is best when it is local. Families local to Boston can seek support from the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program or from the department of Psychiatry. Click below to find care in other regions.

This web site, article or resource is not endorsed by, directly affiliated with, maintained, authorized, or sponsored by Boston Children Hospital. All product and company names are the registered trademarks of their original owners. The use of any trade name or trademark is for identification and reference purposes only and does not imply any association with the trademark holder of their product brand.

If your child is at immediate risk for self-harm or is a danger to others, immediately call 911 or the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

If your child requires an urgent mental health assessment, call or text the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line at 833-773-BHHL (833-773-2445) or visit masshelpline.com for initial guidance. Experienced mental health clinicians are available at this line 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide clinical guidance, and direct you to appropriate resources. This may include your local Mobile Crisis Intervention (MCI) team, who could come to your home to perform a psychiatric assessment, if appropriate. This may enable you to avoid waiting in an emergency department. The Behavioral Health Help Line clinicians can also determine the most appropriate type of care for your child, help with referrals, and guide you through the next steps in the process. This service is available for all ages regardless of insurance coverage.

If you are looking for non-urgent mental health or substance use resource referrals for your child, you can also call or text 833-773-BHHL (833-773-2445) or start a chat at masshelpline.com/chat.