Bibliotherapy

After disaster or loss, children may find talking about their feelings or exploring their feelings really hard and scary. Books are a safe way for children to explore their own feelings by relating to the characters or situations in the story.  Not only are stories a great tool to help understand feelings, but they can also offer hope in times of disaster or loss. We have picked out some of our favorite stories that talk about disasters, difficult times, and hard feelings. Click a category and/or age group below to explore our book lists.

Tips for Storytelling

Reading together helps children feel safe, comforted and cared for.  Sit close with children next to you or with them on your lap. Have your child hold something that makes them feel comfortable, like a  favorite stuffed animal.

It is okay to only read a few pages of a story at a time. If they seem uninterested in reading the story at that time or uncomfortable with the story, put the book to the side until they are ready to come back to it.

Ask open-ended questions related to the story. These are questions where the answers are more than just “yes” and “no.” Some questions you could ask include:

Why do you think they feel that way?
When you feel that way, does it look like theirs or different?
What would you do?

Leave a book in a place where your child can find it and look at it on their own when they want to. It gives them some control and they get to ask questions and explore the story whenever they want.

Keep coming back to stories that mean a lot to your family. Revisiting stories many different times can bring new points of view, new questions and new understanding. If a question comes up that you don’t know the answer to, be honest and say, “I don’t know, but let’s see what we can find out together.” 

You can read storybooks with teenagers too! It’s important to approach it by saying you know it’s a story intended for younger children, but you want to hear their opinion on the story. You can invite your teenager to read the book to you like you are a child. Afterwards, ask your teenager their opinion on the story, asking if the story would have been helpful to them when they were younger.

Showing 81-90 of 181 Books
Lubna and Pebble Lubna and Pebble

Lubna's best friend is a pebble. Pebble always listens to her stories. Pebble always smiles when she feels scared. But...

Disasters (Natural & Manmade), War/Refugee Wendy Meddour
Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane

Count on Ms. Frizzle to teach anything but an ordinary lesson on meteorology. Flying through the clouds in the Magic...

Disasters (Natural & Manmade), Hurricanes Joanna Cole
Many Shapes of Clay A Story of Healing Many Shapes of Clay A Story of Healing

Eisha lives with her mother, a ceramic artist, who helps her make a special shape out of a piece of...

Grief & Loss Kenesha Sneed
Maple Maple

Lori Nichols’ enchanting debut features an irresistible, free-spirited, nature-loving little girl who greets the changing seasons and a new sibling...

Changes Lori Nichols
Maple and Willow Apart Maple and Willow Apart

Maple and Willow have always been inseparable. So what happens when Maple starts big-girl school and Willow stays behind? Well,...

Changes Lori Nichols
Max Gets Inflexible: A Book About Staying Flexible Max Gets Inflexible: A Book About Staying Flexible

Join Max as he encounters difficulty with changes in the schedule and routines when a substitute teachers leads his class...

Changes Courtney Butorac
Me and My Fear Me and My Fear

When a young immigrant girl has to travel to a new country and start at a new school, she is...

fear/challenges, Feelings/Coping Francesca Sanna
Me and My Feelings: A Kids’ Guide to Understanding and Expressing Themselves Me and My Feelings: A Kids’ Guide to Understanding and...

Sometimes, emotions like anger or jealousy or excitement can seem too big to keep inside. Me and My Feelings is...

Feelings/Coping NBCT Vanessa Green Allen, M.Ed.
Most People Most People

The world can be a scary place. Anxious adults want children to be aware of dangers, but shouldn’t kids be...

Disasters (Natural & Manmade), Man Made Disaster/Humanity Michael Leannah
Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You: A Wildlife & Bushcraft Survival Guide (Camping & Wilderness Skills) Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You: A Wildlife...

On knots, poisonous plants, and natural disasters. Featuring 52 challenges you can encounter in the wilderness, this survival guide is...

Disasters (Natural & Manmade), Disasters and Preparation Rob Nelson