Title: Wilfrid Gordon MacDonald Partridge

Author: Mem Fox

Themes: Anxiety, Communication, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Friendship, Gratitude, Grief, Humor, Individuation, Self-Esteem, Social Skills

Age Recommendation: Elementary through Junior High School

Summary: Wilfrid Gordon MacDonald Partridge is the story of Wilfrid and his friends at the old persons home next door. Wlifrid's favorite friend there is Miss Nancy, who has "lost her memory." Wilfrid doesn't know what a memory is, but in discovering the meaning of the word, he helps Miss Nancy recover some of hers. This is a sweet story of friendship, creativity, and generativity. 

Ideas / Interventions: This is a great story to use with kids who are developing social skills and learning to enjoy reciprocal friendships. Before reading the story together, review basic social skills like making eye contact, asking questions about what others are interested in, not interrupting others, etc. Then, as you read the story, point out the social skills demonstrated by Wilfrid and Nancy. 

Title: The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency

Author: Melody Beattie

Themes: Anxiety, Communication, Coping Skills, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Gratitude, Grief, Individuation, Mindfulness, Parenting, Self-Esteem

Age Recommendation: Adult Reference

Title: Harry Potter Series

Author: J.K. Rowling

Themes: Anxiety, Bullying, Blended Families, Coping Skills, Depression, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Friendship, Gratitude, Grief, Humor, Individuation, Self-Esteem

Age Recommendation: Elementary through High School

Summary: The Harry Potter series is very well-known among adolescents and preteens, but I am finding that many kids under the age of 10 aren't as familiar with it. Chances are, however, if you're reading this post, you are familiar with this series and it's fantastic array of characters and themes! As with most stories, the books are definitely better than the movies, so pick them up and read them if you haven't already! 

Ideas / Interventions: There really are endless ways to use the Harry Potter series for bibliotherapy. My favorite way to reference Harry Potter in a session is to draw similarities between client's fears of ____________ and everyone's fear of Voldemort in the stories. By overcoming the dread of saying Voldemort's, or even Tom Riddle's, name out loud, characters in the story realize a previously untapped power within themselves. The same is true of our own fears and anxieties. When children avoid talking about difficult or frightening topics,their feelings of powerlessness over that event/thought/emotion is increased. When they are coached in talking about the topic in a safe setting, they are empowered - just like saying "Voldemort" empowered characters in the Harry Potter series. Clinically, this process falls under the category of exposure/response prevention techniques.  

Title: The New Codependency: Help and Guidance for Today's Generation

Author: Melody Beattie

Themes: Anxiety, Communication, Coping Skills, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Gratitude, Grief, Individuation, Self-Esteem, Validation

Age Recommendation: Adult Reference

Title: Because of Winn Dixie

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Themes: Anxiety, Coping Skills, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Divorce, Friendship, Gratitude, Grief, Individuation, Self-Esteem, Social Skills

Age Recommendation: Elementary though Junior High School

Summary: Because of Winn-Dixie is a sweet story about a girl and her dog. She feels like a stray kid when she rescues this stray dog, who becomes the catalyst for change in her life. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal is able to create new friendships, strengthen her relationship with her dad, and begin to make peace with her mom. 

Ideas / Interventions: This is a great book to read in small portions during sessions or groups. Have kids draw pictures of their family, friends, and other important people in their life and discuss the hard and easy things about those relationships. Ask them to make a list of qualities they look for in a friend and see which of those qualities they see in characters in the book. Then have them make a list of their own qualities and talk about how to strengthen them. 

Another idea is to have your client read the book outside of sessions and choose one character they feel they can relate to. Ask them to make a list of the character's strengths and challenges, and then guide them through the process of deconstructing the challenges to determine how to moderate them with their strengths. After they have done this for the character in the book, help them do a similar exercise related to their own personal strengths and challenges. 

Title: Face Your Fears: A Proven Plan to Beat Anxiety, Panic, Phobias, and Obsessions

Authors: David Tolin, PhD

Themes: Anxiety, Autism, Communication, Coping Skills, DBT, Depression, Grief, Individuation, Mindfulness, Parenting, Self-Esteem

Age Recommendation: Adult Reference

Title: The Reluctant Journal of Henry K Larsen: (Who Is Only Writing This Because His Therapist Said He Had To, Which Stinks)

Authors: Susin Nielsen

Themes: Anxiety, Bullying, Communication Skills, Coping Skills, Depression, Developing Perspective, Developing Empathy, Friendship, Gratitude, Junior High through High School, Self-Esteem, Social Skills, Validation, Grief

Age Recommendation: Junior High through High School

Summary: The Reluctant Journal of Henry K Larsen: (Who Is Only Writing This Because His Therapist Said He Had To, Which Stinks) is a remarkable book, though a little bit graphic. Henry's older brother is a victim of relentless, cruel bullying, who snaps one day and takes their dad's hunting rifle to school and kills two students. The story takes place after Henry's family has relocated to a new city where no one knows their past. This book is Henry's therapy journal. It is honest, witty, and sad in turns and poignantly captures the feelings of a vulnerable but resilient boy. 

Title: Okay For Now

Author: Gary D. Schmidt

Themes: Communication, Parenting, Developing Empathy, Validation, Self-Esteem, Social Skills, Developing Perspective, Grief, Individuation, Coping Skills, Bullying, Gratitude, DBT, Depression

Age Recommendation: Junior High through High School 

Summary: Okay for Now is another beautiful coming of age story by Gary D. Schmidt. The main character, Doug, is an adolescent with all the odds stacked against him. Doug develops courage and compassion as he discovers the art of Audubon, finds solace in a library, and creates deep but unlikely friendships. 

Ideas / Interventions: Like The Wednesday Wars, this is a good book to use with kids who enjoy reading. It is a story that pulls readers in quickly and keeps their attention. Okay For Now is a fun book to use for bibliotherapy. Doug's circumstances align well with the DBT assumption that: "I did not cause all my problems, and I need to deal with them anyway." One of the ways Doug deals with his problems is through his dry sense of humor, which resonates with a lot of adolescents. 

Use this book in conjunction with education about common thinking errors. Have clients choose a character from the book that they would like to track cognitive distortions for. As they learn to notice these negative automatic thoughts expressed by that character in the book, discuss examples from their own lives of times they have employed specific thinking errors. 

Title: The Wednesday Wars

Author: Gary D. Schmidt

Themes: Communication, Parenting, Developing Empathy, Validation, Self-Esteem, Social Skills, Developing Perspective, Grief, Individuation, Coping Skills, Bullying, Gratitude

Age Recommendation: Junior High through High School 

Summary: The Wednesday Wars is a coming of age story set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader in the late 60's, living in suburban Long Island. Holling is required to spend his Wednesday afternoons at school, alone with his English teacher Mrs. Baker, while all of the other students attend mass or synagogue. Over the course of the school year, Holling not only acquires a love for Shakespeare but also learns important truths about himself, the world beyond his small town, and life in general. 

Ideas / Interventions: This is a good book to use with kids who enjoy reading. It is a compelling story, and an excellent tool for bibliotherapy in the classic sense. Holling is an easy character to relate to, and the struggles he faces are fairly universal in nature. 

With books like this, I like to have clients choose a character and list their strengths, their challenges, and decide how they can use their strengths to moderate challenges. Once they have completed this exercise for a character in the book, clients should complete the same exercise for themselves and process that experience in session. 

Title: Grandad's Prayers of the Earth

Author: Douglas Wood

Themes: Mindfulness, Grief, Individuation, Coping Skills, Developing Perspective, Gratitude

Age Recommendation: Elementary through High School 

Summary: Grandad's Prayers of the Earth is the beautifully illustrated story of a boy's relationship with his grandfather, his grandfather's relationship with nature, and nature's relationship with spirituality. The story follows the boy's life from childhood to young adulthood and describes his feelings about life, death, and his place in the universe. 

Ideas / Interventions: This is a great book to read with kids who are dealing with either the anticipated death or recent passing of a loved one. It can also be used to introduce a conversation about how thoughts, feelings, and spirituality can change over the life span. 

When utilizing this book as a way to discuss grief, I like to bring donuts or bagels to the session. Talk about what a "whole" bagel or donut is, and discuss how it can be "whole" even though there is a "hole" missing from the middle. This is a good introduction to the concept that even though grief feels like we have a "hole" in our heart, we can still be "whole." This book can also be used as a segue into the discussion about stages of grief and how they aren't linear in nature. Incorporating an activity related to gratitude, in combination with processing grief, is another great way to utilize this book for bibliotherapy. 

Title: The London Eye Mystery

Authors: Siobahn Dowd

Themes: Anxiety, Autism, Blended Families, Coping Skills, Communication, Grief, Developing Perspective, Developing Empathy

Age Recommendation: Junior High through High School

Summary: The London Eye Mystery tells the story of Ted, a teenager with mild autism, and his sister, Kat, who solve the mystery of their missing cousin, Salim. Salim is struggling to manage his anxiety about moving to New York with his mom and has complicated grief related to his dad. In addition to providing insight into the challenges of change and blended families, this book does an excellent job of depicting events through the eyes of an autistic child.

Ideas / Interventions: This book is a great bibliotherapy resource for families with children on the autistic spectrum. Focusing on the strengths of Ted's unique perspective creates an opportunity to reframe challenges that other autistic children face as important abilities. I recommend that parents read this book with their autistic child as part of special, dedicated one-on-one time, and come to sessions ready to discuss what they learned and appreciate about each other from the process. 

Title: Turn Left At The Cow

Authors: Lisa Bullard

Themes: Anxiety, Coping Skills, Grief, Social Skills, Developing Perspective, Friendship, Individuation, Blended Families

Age Recommendation: Junior High through High School

Summary: Turn Left At The Cow is a fun mystery that tells the story of Trav, a 13 year old who runs away from his mom and stepdad in California and "finds himself" (both literally and figuratively) in a small Minnesota town with his paternal grandmother. While living with her, he creates deep friendships, learns the truth about his deceased father, confronts fears stemming from his mom's new marriage, and develops a sustaining sense of self. Trav initially uses sarcasm as his primary coping skill, but gradually learns to replace it with genuine expression, modeling growth and individuation for readers.

Ideas / Interventions: This is a great book to use in conjunction with motivational interviewing techniques. Have clients read a few chapters at a time, between sessions, and then use values sorting activities to compare and contrast their own values with those of the characters in the book.