School Counseling Books For May
Your students will love these school counseling books for May as they learn about important social emotional topics like kindness, friendship, mental health and more. The books will help your students celebrate spring as well as Mental Health Awareness Month. They are great for individual, small group and classroom school counseling lessons.
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Spring Themed School Counseling Books
If You Plant A Seed by Kadir Nelson
Recommended Grades: Pre-K to 1
Topics It Covers: Kindness
This short and sweet book encourages young readers to consider the effects of their words and actions. When we plant seeds of kindness, beautiful things can grow!
How To Grow A Friend by Sara Gillingham
Recommended Grades: K to 2
Topics It Covers: Friendship
•In this book, readers will learn that friendships are a lot like flowers. They require love and care. The book encourages kids to practice empathy, support, inclusion and more as they grow a good friend!
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Recommended Grades: K to 2
Topics It Covers: Self Esteem
Chrysanthemum loved her name... until she started school. At school, everyone made fun of her name and Chrysanthemum began to hate it. Then, a teacher helped her and the others realize how special her name really was!
Rachel’s Day In The Garden by Giselle Shardlow
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Topics It Covers: Yoga and Mindfulness
This fun book outlines Rachel’s day outside, encouraging students to use yoga poses to act out what Rachel is doing. This is the perfect book to use in the spring!
Grow Happy by Jon Lasser, PhD. and Sage Foster-Lasser
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Topics It Covers: Self-Care, Social Emotional Learning
Kiko is a gardener. She doesn’t only grow fruits and vegetables - she grows happy too. By making good choices, taking care of herself, working through hard times, problem solving, and spending time with others, she grows her plants AND her happiness. This book is full of concrete examples of what Kiko is doing to help herself be happy.
Seeds And Trees by Brandon Walden
Recommended Grades: 1 to 3
Topics It Covers: Kindness
In this book, the students learn about a place where words are like seeds. The boy in this story tells about the effect of the green seeds - that come from positive words - and the dark seeds - that come from unkind words. This is a great reminder to consider the words we are giving to others, and to only allow the kind words we hear to take root.
The Judgmental Flower by Julia Cook
Recommended Grades: 1 to 4
Topics It Covers: Friendship, Kindness, Diversity
The blue flower isn’t too sure when he meets the purple flower. He doesn’t like him because he is different. The blue flower then learns that he has some things in common with the purple flower and that their differences are something to be celebrated!
Mental Health Books For School Counseling
The Bear Who Stared by Duncan Beedie
Recommended Grades: K to 2
Topics It Covers: Anxiety and Shyness
There once was a bear who always stared. His friends didn’t like that he always stared, but he was always so nervous and never knew what to say. Then, one day, he realized the power of sharing a big smile with his friends. This is a book about anxiety for National Mental Health Month!
My Brain Is A Racecar by Nell Harris
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Topics It Covers: ADHD, Neurodiversity
This book outlines different challenges that a “race car brain” may face, such as feeling upset, overstimulated, distracted, forgetful, and more. For each of these, readers will learn about practical steps they can take to get their brain back on track. This is a great book to help kids remember that they aren’t alone, and that there are things they can do to help themselves feel better.
The Huge Bag Of Worries by Virginia Ironside
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Topics It Covers: Anxiety, Coping Skills
In this book, readers learn about Jenny, who has a lot of worries. She carries them around in a bag that grows and grows. She doesn’t know how to get rid of it until she meets an old lady who helps her empty out the bag.
Lucy’s Blue Day by Christopher Duke
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Topics It Covers: Mental Health, Feelings
Lucy has magical hair that changes color to match her mood. One day, she wakes up with blue hair, but isn’t sure why she feels so down. As she tries to figure out why she is having these feelings, she learns that all feelings are okay and that they aren’t permanent.
Mrs. Gorski, I Think I Have The Wiggle Fidgets by Barbara Esham
Recommended Grades: 1 to 4
Topics It Covers: Impulse Control, ADHD
In this story, David has the wiggle fidgets. He can’t stay focused during class and always gets distracted by the ideas in his brain. This causes a lot of problems in his classroom. His teacher is so frustrated with David, that she calls a meeting with David’s parents. When preparing for the meeting, David learns that his dad had the wiggle fidgets too. He ends up coming up with some great strategies to help himself, and his classmates, cope with impulsivity.
Out Of A Jar by Deborah Marcero
Recommended Grades: 1 to 4
Topics It Covers: Feelings, Expression Of Emotions
Llewellyn experiences many different emotions. But, instead of facing these feelings, he packs them neatly into jars and keeps them out of the way. One day, he finds that he has run out of space for his feelings jars. Instead, he must learn to face these feelings head on.
The Princess And The Fog by Lloyd Jones
Recommended Grades: 1 to 5
Topics It Covers: Depression
The princess had a great life. But, when the “fog” came, she began to feel alone, sad and tired. She lost interest in doing the things that she used to love. One day, a friend visited the princess and offered to talk (and listen!) to her. Eventually, other things like reaching her goals, taking magic potion, and learning from others helped the fog lift. In the end, the princess was able to find ways to cope with the feelings that the fog brought on, even if the fog didn’t go away completely.
Books About Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage
The Many Colors Of Harpreet Singh by Supriya Kelkar
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Topics It Covers: Friendship, Feelings
Harpreet loved using his coloring patkas to reflect his moods. When he moved to a new town for his mom’s job, his patkas were often dull and plain to reflect his feelings of shyness, sadness and worry. One day, and act of friendship helps Harpreet to feel joy again, bringing back his colorful patkas. This is a great story about the different emotions we experience, and how we can bring joy to those around us.
Eyes That Speak To The Stars by Joanna Ho
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Topics It Covers: Diversity, Self-Esteem
The boy in this story is upset when a classmate draws a picture of him that shows his eyes as two straight lines. The boy begins to feel self-conscious about his appearance and the way that he is different from his friends. His dad reminds him that his eyes reflect the great characteristics of the family that he comes from. In the end, the boy understands the wonderful things that are represented in his eyes.
The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Topics It Covers: Diversity, Self-Esteem
Faizah’s sister Asiya picks out a beautiful blue hijab to wear on her first day of school. Throughout the day, the sisters face unkind questions and comments about it. This bothers Faizah, but she is able to cling to the encouraging words of her mama, and the confidence of her sister to find her own strength.
Paper Son by Julie Leung
Recommended Grades: K to 5
Topics It Covers: Perseverance, Growth Mindset
This book outlines the true story of Tyrus Wong, who immigrated to the United States from China in 1919. Tyrus and his father experienced many challenges as immigrants, Through these difficulties, Tyrus continued to love art, and found solace in drawing, painting and studying the art of his homeland. Eventually, Tyrus was able to find a career doing what he loved, and even making significant artistic contributions to the animated movie Bambi. Despite the challenges he continued to face, Tyrus never stopped pursuing his passions.
These school counseling books for May are an easy to way make sure your lessons are meaningful and effective this month. If you are looking for more books to use in your counseling lessons, sign up below to get your free list of 120 social emotional picture books!
