A Counselor's Booklist
I have used books anywhere from individual counseling to whole class lessons. They are a wonderful jumping off point to get conversations started or introduce a topic in a kid-friendly and relatable way. Here are some books that you can use with the children in your life, broken up by topic. Many of the books are based on recommendations from one of my favorite school counselor websites:
The School Counselor Kind.
The School Counselor Kind.
Feelings
- The Way I Feel” by Janin Cain
- “Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods that Make My Day” by Jamie Lee Curtis
- When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry” by Molly Bang
- “The Way I Feel” Books by Cornelia Maude Spelman
- “When I’m Feeling…” Books by Trace Moroney
- The Feelings Book” by Todd Parr
- Let’s Talk About Feeling Afraid” by Joy Berry
- “How Are You Peeling?” by Saxton Freymann
- “Visiting Feelings” by Lauren Rubenstein
- What to Do When you Worry Too Much by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D.
- What to Do When you Grumble Too Much by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D.
- How are you Peeling by Saxton Freeman
- Arnold Gets Angry by Shapiro, L. E.
- Boom The Anger Tamer by Casper, M. & Dorsey, T.
- Chillax! How Ernie Learns to Chill Out, Relax and Take Charge of His Anger by Craver, M.M.
- I am so Angry I Could Scream: Helping Children Deal with Anger. by Fox, L., & Sabatino, C.
- My Mouth is a Volcano by Cook, J.
- Sometimes I get SO ANGRY by Anderson, D.
Friendship
- “How to Lose All Your Friends” by Nancy Carlson
- Making Friends is an Art” by Julia Cook
- “How Do I Stand in Your Shoes?” by Susan DeBell
- “A Visitor for Bear” by Bonny Becker
- “Hunter’s Best Friend at School” by Laura Malone Elliot
- “Chester’s Way” by Kevin Henkes
- The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister
- “The Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale” by Marcus Pfister
- “My Best Friend” by Mary Ann Rodman
- “City Dog, Country Frog” by Mo Willems
- “Franklin’s Secret Club” by Paulette Bourgeois
- “Enemy Pie” by Derek Munson
- “The Invisible Boy” by Trudy Ludwig
- “Pink Tiara Cookies For Three” by Maria Dismondy
- How to Lose all Your Friends by Nancy Carlson
- Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
- Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes
- Hello, Hello by Miriam Schlein
- Amos and Boris by William Steig
- That's What Friends Do by Kathryn Cave
- How Humans Make Friends by Loreen Leedy
- The Unwritten Rules of Friendship: Simple Strategies To Help Your Child Make Friends by Natalie Elman
- Raisin' Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Dan Kindlon
- How to be a Friend by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown
Diversity and Tolerance
A list of books about Bias, Diversity and Social Justice from the ADL
- “It’s Okay to Be Different” by Todd Parr
- “The Family Book” by Todd Parr
- “You and Me Together” by Barbara Kerley
- “The Sneetches” by Dr. Seuss
- “If Only I Had a Green Nose” by Max Lucado
- “The Crayon Box that Talked” by Shane DeRolf
- Whoever You Are” by Mem Fox
- “The Potato Chip Champ” by Maria Dismondy
Self-Esteem
- “I’m Gonna Like Me!” by Jamie Lee Curtis
- “What I Like About Me!” by Allia Zobel Nollan
- “You Be You” by Linda Kranz
- “Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun” by Maria Dismondy
- “Zero” by Kathryn Otoshi
Bullying & Relational Aggression
This list includes books for BOTH children and their parents/guardians
- Being Bullied” by Joy Berry
- “Teasing” by Joy Berry
- “One” by Kathryn Otoshi
- “Nobody Knew What to Do” by Becky Ray McCain
- “Just Kidding” by Trudy Ludwig
- "My Secret Bully" by Trudy Ludwig
- “Say Something” by Peggy Moss
- “The Juice Box Bully” by Bob Sornson
- "The Weird Series” by Erin Frankel
- “The Tease Monster” by Julia Cook
- “Simon’s Hook: A Story About Teases and Put-downs” by Karen Gedig Burnett
- “The Secret Olivia Told Me” by N. Joy
- “Trouble Talk” by Trudy Ludwig
- Bullying in the Girls World by Diane Senn
- Girl Wars by Cheryl Dellasega
- The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander by Michelle Borba
- The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill
- How to lose All Your Friends by Nancy Carlson
- Bully by Judith Caseley
- Bully on the Bus by Carl Bosch
- Bullies are a Pain in the Brain by Trevor Romain
- How to Handle a Bully by Susanna Palomares
- Peace Begins With You by Katherine Scoles
- Say Something by Peggy Moss
- Simon’s Hook by Karen Gedig Burnett
- Stop Picking on Me (A First Look at Bullying) by Pat Thomas
- Teasing – Berenstain Bears by Stan Berenstain
- The Bully Blockers Club by Theresa Bateman
- Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna
For Reluctant Readers
- "Wolfman" by Michael Rosen
- "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
- "Squish" by Jennifer and Matthew Holm
- "Bone" by Jeff Smith
- "Brock" by Anthony McGowan (For high-school aged students)
- "Diary of a Whimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
- "Horrid Henry Robs the Bank" by Francesca Simon
- "Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse" by Chris Riddell
Additional Books
- “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol McCloud
- “My Mouth is a Volcano!” by Julia Cook
- “A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue” by Julia Cook
- “Personal Space Camp” by Julia Cook
- “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio
- "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
- "El Deafo" by Cece Bell
More book resources
100 Books that Build Character
Top Books for Teens
Cumberland County Library System
Lexile Information/ READ NC
Books that Heal Kids
Storybird
Top Books for Teens
Cumberland County Library System
Lexile Information/ READ NC
Books that Heal Kids
Storybird
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