Children’s Books From the Shelf of a Child Life Specialist
As we move into the final week of Child Life month, I thought I would choose some books that highlight the important work of a Certified Child Life Specialists. You may notice that the titles and their subject matter is quite varied - which is fitting because our work can look so different from day to day and from place to place. Yet, I feel that all of these titles help kids talk about their bodies, their hospital experiences, or their worries while also being playful. Many of them would be great for a playroom/classroom ‘read aloud’ and several of them are interactive.
Below I share more about each book and how I see it being used by a caregiver or professional. I hope you find one that could start some new important conversations with the children in your life. As always, I have included a link to help you find the book. I make a small compensation off some of the links which helps me justify all of the hours I spend looking for great books for you! If you love this blog, you can support me by buying the books through the links. If you’d rather purchase through a local bookstore, I am a big fan of that as well!
If you don’t know what a Certified Child Life Specialist is: We are professionals who work with children and families to help them cope with hospitalization, illness, and related experiences. We specialize in explaining hard things to kids and helping them develop their own way to work through each experience. We utilize play to connect and empower. We are big advocates for the developmental and personal needs of patients and are always working to make experiences less stressful for the entire family. If you think your child or family could benefit from the support of a CCLS, your most local children’s hospital should have a department that you can contact. In addition, there is a growing field of private practice CCLSs that offer in-person and virtual visits. Try an internet search in your area.
For all my CCLS friends out there: Remember that resources like these open the doors of communication for families promoting understanding and a universal vocabulary for future conversations about their medical experiences. So if you are CCLS running your head off, wishing you had time to dig deeper with a patient, use these books to empower caregivers to be that layer of education and support.
The Unworry Book by Alice James
This workbook explains many aspects of “worry” including many techniques that psychologists find helpful. On each page, the book explains a little about why something could be helpful and then gives easy to follow instructions. Some explanations use science. Some explanations use common experience, but all are written in ways that a 5th grader could understand. Younger kids might need some additional help understanding. The activities are appropriate for a wide-variety of ages though. Examples include: drawing a picture of a creature or person who represents your worries who you can envision saying “no” to and drawing the opposite, labeling feelings, reasoning through worries, etc. It is apparent that this book was written with thought and with the help of experts. There are so many ideas/pages. I think this book could be returned to over and over again, or could be used as a way to develop activity ideas for child life specialists or caregivers who want to work with children who are struggling with worries and hard feelings in the hospital. I recommend every child life specialist’s and school counselor’s office shelf. Good for school age kids through adults.
There are some great deals on Amazon, but not a lot of stock. You can look here:https://amzn.to/4uOgj5t
But you can also find them here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/unworry-book-alice-james/ed3628dd74bd7cf4?ean=9781805071488&next=t&next=t (entire your favorite bookshop so they get the credit!)
See Inside Your Body: An Interactive Flap Book About Anatomy and Organs for Curious Children by Katie Daynes
This book gives well-written simple explanations for many systems of the body including breathing, blood pumping, drinking/weeing, digestions, bones/muscles, etc. The detailed illustrations and additional facts enhance kids’ learning and understanding.As a lift-the-flap book and easy-to-clean board book, this book is a great resource to grab off the shelf and do some body education. It’s also great for home shelves to start building self-awareness, understanding, and ownership of health. Good for preschool and elementary-aged kids.
https://amzn.to/480Kahh
Margie Goes to Work by Sam Johnson, MA, CCLS Illustrated by Joy Nichols, MA, CCLS
This is a simple story about a therapy dog named Margie and her role as a partner to a child life specialist. The book talks the jobs of both the dog and the CCLS including educating patients, comforting patients, and make the hospital fun. The book also talks about a few things that Margie likes to do for fun in the hospital. This book would be good for young hospitalized children as it helps them build a less scary view of the hospital and could help them talk about what they could do in the hospital for fun. The book could also introduce the idea of a therapy dog visiting them, in case that is something that they might like, but also be apprehensive of. This book is cute simple tool for child life departments that utilize therapy dogs. It could also be utilized to talk about different roles that therapy dogs can have. Written and illustrated by certified child life specialists.
https://amzn.to/4taKt1u
You’ve Got Dragons by Kathryn Cave
This book tells the story of a boy who ‘has dragons’. In the story, dragons are not talked about like they are a pet, but rather like you’ve got the case of something. He tries to ignore them, run from them, scare them off, etc. but the dragons are still there He learns about his dragons. He names them. He becomes an expert in them. He talks to them. Eventually, the dragons just go away, but he knows that they could return again. The book is a well-written metaphor that could be used in a wide variety of situations including kids that are having ‘bad’ thoughts, anxiety, panic attacks, etc, but I also think it could be used to help kids talk and relate to having a chronic or severe illness like cancer or diabetes. It is a conversation starter that will catch your child’s attention and imagination. There could be some cool after book processing artwork too. I’d love to see kids draw what their “dragons” look like. Good for elementary-aged kids.
https://amzn.to/4a4Kigg
Scaredy Squirrel Goes to the Doctor by Melanie Watt
Wanting to talk to kids about nerves or anxiety and how it affects them when they go to the doctor? Scaredy Squirrel is a familiar face to most kids, and so this silly book can be the perfect opportunity to address Scaredy’s worries and your child’s. Scaredy’s worries are not the same as a typical child, but once he sees the doctor the things he experiences line right up. In the end, he is preparing to get a shot the next visit. If you have a child having a doctor’s visit coming up, take this playful chance to talk about what it will be like and what your child’s feelings and worries are. Great for young children through middle elementary.
https://amzn.to/4bKqHmm
There’s a Skeleton Inside of You by Idan Ben-Barak
This book is playful and interactive. It tells the story of some aliens who are trying to go to a birthday party but crash their space ship. The reader ends up helping them because they don’t have hands. As the reader uses their hands to help, the aliens notice interesting things about their hands that make them useful - bones, muscles, nerves, etc. At the end, the book even gets into some details that most “bone/muscle” books wouldn’t - like cartilage, ligaments, synovial fluid, and lymph vessels. This is an amazing tool for teaching kids about how their body works. It would be great for an orthopedic office or a physical therapy office. Of course, it would also be great for a classroom learning about how the body works or just for fun. Looking for a great hospital library read-aloud? This would be a great one. Great for preschool through elementary school.
https://amzn.to/4bPSlOJ
