Summer has arrived, and with it might come the opportunity for a bit of reading (with your kiddos or by yourself)! Below are some of my favorite recommendations — click on their titles for links. Books can support children in expressing their feelings and dealing with challenging life situations, as well as deliver information about sensitive topics that may be tough for parents to bring up. The adult recommendations below provide an invitation for you to reflect or shift your thinking, and learn new parenting skills.
Happy reading!
Books for Children:
- The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
- Ahn’s Anger, by Gail Silver
- Visiting Feelings, by Lauren Rubenstein
- The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
- Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss by Pat Schwiebert
- Dinosaur’s Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families by Marc Brown
- It’s Not the Stork: A Book about Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends by Robie Harris
- My Blue is Happy by Jessica Young
- The Family Book by Todd Parr
- The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
- The Dougy Center’s many books & workbooks for children healing from the death of a loved one.
- Here is a list of 20 books for young readers (both picture books and chapter books) all about divorce. There is a description with each to find ones that may resonate best with your kiddo.
For Parents:
- The Explosive Child: A new approach for understanding and parenting easily frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children, Ross W. Greene PhD
- No-Drama Discipline, by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
- The Whole-Brain Child, by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
- Brainstorm (for parents of teens!) by Daniel Siegel
- Sitting Still Like a Frog , by Eline Snel
- Breathe, mama, Breathe, by Shonda Moralis
- I Love You Rituals, by Becky Bailey
- The Out-Of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping With Sensory Processing Disorder by Carole Kranowitz
For Adults:
- The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John M. Gottman and Nan Silver
- The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are, by Brene Brown (her other books are great, too!!)
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
- Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
- Reclaiming your Real Self by Patrick Johnson, PhD
- The Book of Awakening, by Mark Nepo
