Play Therapy Resources

Using Books (Bibliography) in Play Therapy

When you are faced with a difficult social, behavioral or emotional issue, we want you to know that you are not alone. One of the purposes of the Utah Association for Play Therapy is to provide resources for families and professionals. If you are experiencing a challenging situation, it is likely that someone else has gone through the same thing, and written a book about it! Included in these pages are books and websites that offer insights, tools and help along your journey.

Books we recommend: Please note - we are constantly adding books to this page so check in on it every so often to see if there is something new!

 

Categories:

Adoption/Foster Care

• Maybe Days: A Book for Children in Foster Care by Jennifer Wilgocki, Marcia Kahn Wright & Alissa Imre Geis

• Did My First Mother Love Me?: A Story for an Adopted Child by Kathryn Ann Miller

• I Wished for You: an Adoption Story by Marianne Richmond

• Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell

Anxiety

• I Bet I Won’t Fret: A Workbook to Help Children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder by Timothy A. Sisemor

• David and the Worry Beast:Helping Children Cope with Anxiety by Anne Marie Guanci.

• When My Worries Get Too Big! A Relaxation Book for Children Who Live with Anxiety  by Kari Dunn Buron

• What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety
 by Dawn, Ph.D. Huebner and Bonnie Matthews

• Is a Worry Worrying You? By Ferida Wolff, Harriet May Savitz and Marie LeTourneau

• What to Do When Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough: The Real Deal on Perfectionism: A Guide for Kids by Thomas S. Greenspon

ADHD

• The ADHD Workbook for Kids: Helping Children Gain Self-Confidence, Social Skills, and Self-Control (Instant Help Books for Parents & Kids) by Lawrence E. Shapiro

• Putting on the Brakes Activity Book for Kids with ADD or ADHD by Patricia O. Quinn, Judith M. Stern and Joe Lee

• Mrs. Gorski, I Think I Have the Wiggle Fidgets (The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses) Barbara Esham, Mike Gordon, Carl Gordon

• I Can’t Sit Still!: Living with ADHD (Live and Learn Books) Pam Pollack, Meg Belviso, Marta Fabrega

Depression:

• Living with a Black Dog: His Name Is Depression by Matthew Johnstone

• Brandon and the Bipolar Bear: A Story for Children with Bipolar Disorder by Tracy Anglada, Jennifer Taylor and Toby Ferguson

Divorce/ Grief/ Trauma

• When Dinosaurs Divorce by Laurene Krasny Brown and Marc Brown (Illustrator)

• When Dinosaurs Die by Laurene Krasny Brown and Marc Brown (Illustrator)

• Tear Soup by Pat Schweibert , Chuck DeKlyen, and Taylor Bills

• A Terrible Thing Happened – A story for children who have witnessed violence or trauma by Margaret M. Holmes

Learning Disorders

• If You’re So Smart, How Come You Can’t Spell Mississippi? (The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses) Barbara Esham, Mike Gordon, Carl Gordon.

Neurodivergence:

Sex Education/ Appropriate Touch

• An Exceptional Children's Guide to Touch: Teaching Social and Physical Boundaries to Kids (Hunter Manasco) 

  • This simple book address 6 kinds of touch: 1. accidental touch, 2. friendly touch, 3. hurtful touch, 4. touching myself, 5. not touching and 6. having my picture taken. Boundaries around sexual touch are addressed within these chapters. With its range of topics around touch and privacy, this is a must-have child's psychoeducational book for your therapy library!  https://www.amazon.com/Exceptional-Childrens-Guide-Touch-Boundaries/dp/1849058717/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SCFEASHTSUDO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZkpQKi4adDM_kXKW_WvM6_7ZfnCWFlaItbKaaYY8Y842r2Z9zp8B9ntxQ310YRb_N1GReKnTUjpGx3ZPse3tbuu2MEErgKLU3SSpSoFJuR4HqbQdbfZRdlYueuUIzu2KStjMzxPhNDI6aYH4KsM_bT3FRbeFHSzgziaz9GGOhcTmS6uZ1JO0O7BuBLRo5OLZx_WtwITWEL7GCn0d_UBFGAPJmzQqsiGiJqYcU1wWv4Y.PwSxPpPAmE5i9_MkvNgosisxM32XTjFPficl2vn29UY&dib_tag=se&keywords=an+exceptional+children%27s+guide+to+touch&qid=1722371499&sprefix=an+exceptional+%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-1

• Rissy No Kissies (by Katey Howes, illustrated by Jess Engle)

  • A cute rhyming book about a love bird that doesn't like "kissies". Others think Rissy is confused, rude or sick because she's not like other love birds in showing affection. She learns that "your body and your heart are yours and you choose how to share" and speaks up to others about how she likes to show her love. Use this book to bring up conversations with young clients about listening to their bodies and being assertive about their boundaries.  https://www.amazon.com/Rissy-No-Kissies-Katey-Howes/dp/1541597982/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38PME9Q4CWVAG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yuE5gMkjS6hOnCldNHmHs7pbdsQF2aTf8Mq-dsYc8MulYdF_GdCRWq-d9PnzTOMsLOVEMkrWFptXnUcM-4mMzdVjiw92ltYbmm-OYEZDyVocuG4PMkeOTXfNLYAYctj-UuXwmAEhy4VbraPqK-LcSmbDWGvJgTTPp-t_7F3QPdH9C8_co-dNNsw5Jf1e4e1brZsJqkAmZ2bGYxqACjGlD4bKyFE7TFOv4q3XrynEQVMLW6BfUVmlkUYNvzK-1V7VC4O1QAkoeIECr1SRL94lxblY4Uo9FBaFRhAZzZAM9kI.KGH52lsWvVsgO-_gRVDp99lM5NmsSU2G1iNht2gV-j4&dib_tag=se&keywords=rissy+no+kissies&qid=1722372256&sprefix=rissy+%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-1

• The Right Touch: A Read-Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (Jody Bergsma Collection)

• Your Body Belongs To You! A Coloring & Activities Book from http://www.channing-bete.com/

• What Every Kid Should Know About Sexual Abuse: A Coloring & Activities Book from http://www.channing-bete.com/

• What’s the Big Secret?: Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys  Laurie Krasny Brown (Author), Marc Brown (Illustrator)

• Puberty for girls: The Care and Keeping of You (American Girl) (American Girl Library)

• Puberty for boys: The Boy’s Body Book: Everything You Need to Know for Growing Up YOU (Boys World Books)

Social Skills:

• My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook

• Personal Space Camp by Julia Cook

• A Bad Case Of The Tattle Tongue by Julia Cook

• The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco

• Join in and Play: Learning To Get Along by Cheri J. Meiner

Educational Books to Learn more about Play Therapy:

• Children
• Parents
• Therapists