Tinlids book description and theme guide for a variety of ages:
Titles to help students understand a little more about a friend, classmate or family member with mental health problems.
Statistics indicate that one in five students is impacted by mental health issues. These books feature children and adults who suffer from mental distress, anxiety, addictions, and other mental health illnesses that affect their relationships and ability to cope in the world. Hopefully these titles will help children understand a little more about a friend, classmate or family member with mental health problems. – Maria Martella
Get the Guide: http://tinlids.ca/resources/mhealth.pdf
Titles and descriptions from: Healthier Minds Through Songs and Rhymes: Integrating the Arts for Positive Mental Health in Schools
Oddrey by Dave Whamond. Owl Kids, 2012. PS8645.H34 O33 2012 juv
Brief Synopsis: Oddrey is a girl who does everything her own way. She likes acting how she wants because she is happy with herself, but she also gets lonely when no one wants to be friends with her. Eventually Oddrey’s free spirit and creative way of doing things saves the day and her classmates realize that being a little “odd” can be a great thing.
How it relates to mental health: Being ok with who you are is a hard skill to master, and being ok with people who are different than you can be another hard thing for children to learn. This book helps deliver the messages that our differences can make us really special, and come in handy, and that we should accept people for who they are. It can help students with their own self-concept as well as how they relate to others.
It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr. Little Brown and Company, 2001.
Brief Synopsis: In this simplistic and colourful book, the author brilliantly illustrates the many ways that we can all be different.
How it relates to mental health: This is a very safe and engaging way to teach children to embrace differences. In life we have to be ok with our own differences and support others who are different than us. It is a helpful way to make connections with our own lives and to express empathy for those who have challenges, all the while embracing our many forms of diversity.
My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis illustrated by Suzanne DeSimone. Alladin, 2010. HQ1075 .K535 2010 juv
Brief Synopsis: This is a true story of a four year old “Princess boy” who loves the colour pink and dressing up in nice dresses. While many people are nice to him and accept him for who he is, there are some people who think that “boys shouldn’t wear dresses” and this makes the Princess Boy and his family upset. It carries a strong message of acceptance and the need for compassion in our lives.
How it relates to mental health: There are many ways people can be different from the norm, and this book is a great example at looking at one story and inspiring children to like each other for who they are.ety.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell illustrated by Henry Cole. Simon and Schuster, 2005. PS3618.I3447 A76 2005t juv
Brief Synopsis: Two male penguins fall in love at the central park zoo, and with the help of the zookeepers, they are given their own chance at having a family.
How it relates to mental health: Children need to know that there are all kinds of families, and they should be comfortable with this diversity so they will accept peers and themselves.
10 000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert, illustrations by Rex Ray. Seven Stories Press, 2008.
Brief Synopsis: Bailey goes to bed every night dreaming of beautiful dresses. But when she wakes up, her parents don’t understand because they say she’s a boy and boy’s don’t wear dresses.
How it relates to mental health: it is important for teachers and students to understand that there are many ways to express gender and that its ok to be yourself, no matter what other people think. Hopefully more exposure to characters who do not follow the social norms of gender expression, more tolerance can be built in the classroom and in society
Books for Teens
Search the catalogue for subject : Mental illness--Juvenile fiction.
Calvin by
In the town of Leamington, Ontario, a seventeen-year-old boy is suddenly stricken by a schizophrenic episode and wakes up in hospital. The boy's name is Calvin, and he is plagued by hallucinations of a man-eating tiger. As the hallucinations persist, Calvin comes to believe that the answer lies in performing one grand and incredible gesture. And so he decides to walk across Lake Erie.
OCDaniel by
EDGAR AWARD WINNER FOR BEST MYSTERY BANK STREET BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SILVER BIRCH AWARD WINNER "Complex and satisfying. Written from Daniel's point of view, this perceptive first-person narrative is sometimes painful, sometimes amusing, and always rewarding." --Booklist (starred review) From the author of Incredible Space Raiders from Space! comes a brand-new coming-of-age story about a boy whose life revolves around hiding his obsessive compulsive disorder--until he gets a mysterious note that changes everything. Daniel is the back-up punter for the Erie Hills Elephants. Which really means he's the water boy. He spends football practice perfectly arranging water cups--and hoping no one notices. Actually, he spends most of his time hoping no one notices his strange habits--he calls them Zaps: avoiding writing the number four, for example, or flipping a light switch on and off dozens of times over. He hopes no one notices that he's crazy, especially his best friend Max, and Raya, the prettiest girl in school. His life gets weirder when another girl at school, who is unkindly nicknamed Psycho Sara, notices him for the first time. She doesn't just notice him: she seems to peer through him. Then Daniel gets a note: "I need your help," it says, signed, Fellow Star child--whatever that means. And suddenly Daniel, a total no one at school, is swept up in a mystery that might change everything for him. With great voice and grand adventure, this book is about feeling different and finding those who understand.
It's Kind of a Funny Story by
Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life-which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job-Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and Craig stops eating and sleeping-until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, isolated from the crushing pressures of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety. Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness. For a novel about depression, it's definitely a funny story.
The 11th Hour by
Annika Dietty thinks her future is with Dylan Sopick -- until they run away together. One day, after weeks of secret planning, seventeen-year-old Annika Dietty leaves home at dawn to run away with her boyfriend, the charming and popular Dylan Sopick. She tried telling her friends and family how amazing Dylan is, but seeing as they all seem set against the relationship, she's decided their only chance is to run away together. But not everything goes according to plan, and Dylan seems to be having more and more trouble dealing with every obstacle they encounter. At first Annika is sympathetic, knowing that he's had a harder life than she has, but very soon Dylan's behaviour becomes unsettling, and Annika realizes that her safety is at stake. She finally admits to herself that Dylan needs support that she can't provide. She wants to get him help -- if she'll get the chance.
Appropriate for a high school library.
Turtles All the Way Down by
"It's quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see." Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett's son, Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza's story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.
Before I Let Go by
ANew York TimesBestseller! From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller This Is Where It Endscomes another unforgettable story of loss, hope, betrayal, and the quest for truth Best friends Corey and Kyra were inseparable in theirsnow-covered town of Lost Creek, Alaska. When Corey moves away, she makes Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return. Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. Corey is devastated--and confused. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones about the town's lost daughter, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger. Corey knows something is wrong. With every hour, her suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets--chilling secrets. But piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter...