Kids books about overcoming school anxiety?

September 3, 2023 5:27 AM

I realize I should have thought of this sooner, but I'm looking for kids books (picture books ok, but chapter books probably have room for more detail) about kids overcoming school anxiety and separation anxiety. I don't just want "but then they were brave..." I want actual "here's what they did when they were scared or when things went wrong strategies."
posted by If only I had a penguin... to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

One of my favourite books about being small and afraid and overcoming it is 'The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark'. It's lovely - the owl baby starts out not being able to join his parents hunting at night because he's scared
He meets lots of people and animals who love the dark and learns what they like about it and at the end is no longer afraid.
posted by In Your Shell Like at 6:00 AM on September 3, 2023

This is something that librarians and/or bookstore staff are really good at; especially those who work specifically in the children's areas. I would be shocked if you asked and didn't get lots of recommendations.
posted by cooker girl at 6:58 AM on September 3, 2023 [3 favorites]

We kept going back to Kevin Henkes' three-fer:
Wemberly Worried
Chrysanthemum
Sheila Ray the Brave
A++ would recommend.
posted by nkknkk at 8:49 AM on September 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, all. The libraries are closed because it's a holiday weekend. To clarify, I'm not really not looking for "was scared like everyone is scared and then braved up and was brave" or about fear and braving up in general, but about school anxiety and separation anxiety specifically and a kid actually implementing strategies -- deep breathing, replacing intrusive thoughts, using a calm-down room, self-talk etc. to get past it. I'm looking for somewhat realistic modelling of someone working through this specific thing. I suspect it doesn't exist because if it did I think I would have run across it already, but who knows.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:54 AM on September 3, 2023

I just wanted to share that I tried this strategy with one of my kids and he later reported that it made him more nervous. He said the thing that made him feel best about school was the Magic School Bus series. (Get messy, make mistakes.)
posted by warriorqueen at 10:31 AM on September 3, 2023 [3 favorites]

Not 100% all you are asking for, but The Kissing Hand might be one tool in your toolbox.
posted by gudrun at 10:43 AM on September 3, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Ok, MeMailing you warriorqueen.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 10:56 AM on September 3, 2023