Title: Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book

Authors: Grumpy Cat

Themes: Anxiety, Communication, Coping Skills, Depression, Friendship, Social Skills, Validation, Humor

Age Recommendation:  Elementary through High School

Summary: Grumpy Cat is a compilation of photographs of, you guessed it, Grumpy Cat, each of which has a pessimistic thought attached to it. So what is it doing on a bibliotherapy blog? 

Ideas / Interventions: Most kids think Grumpy Cat is funny, but teenagers who protect themselves with sarcasm absolutely relate to this book! I use this book frequently in sessions with depressed teens. If they are ambivalent to therapy, asking them to relate some of their worldviews via this cat works amazingly well. If they are engaged in the therapeutic process already, ask them to identify which cognitive distortion the cat is employing in each statement; this is a trick question because the cat isn't always mistaken in it's assessment of a situation. Having your client diagram the statement into facts and opinions is a good way to introduce the skill of parsing up confusing communication when they encounter it in their own lives.