Recommended Reading: 5 Children’s Books for Social Emotional Learning during Isolation
Necessary quarantine restrictions and social distancing guidelines are making these stressful times very isolating. This isolation is difficult for all of us, but it may be especially affecting the youngest among us. There is good evidence that kids are experiencing chronic stress and anxiety at increasingly high levels during the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, this continued isolation may mean children are missing out on important social emotional learning opportunities at critical points in development. Without intentional efforts by caregivers and educators to allow children to have social emotional learning opportunities, we could see a generation of kids with longer term social emotional challenges and underdevelopment that could last a lifetime. But there is hope! Children are resilient, and there are many things we all can do to give children the opportunity to be healthy and safe, while still getting important social experiences in developmentally appropriate ways.
One of the best resources to help kids learn almost anything is to talk to them about those things directly and intentionally. Sometimes we don’t know exactly where to start, or how to integrate different perspectives into conversations with children while keeping conversations developmentally appropriate. Books can help with this! Great research has indicated that reading with children, and having an active dialogue based on what is read, is a great way to help children glean experiences that they haven’t yet had in real life, or to make sense of experiences they have had and need help understanding or communicating. Reading can give valuable perspectives, encourage empathy and understanding, and build developmentally appropriate skills.
With all of that in mind, we have put together a shortlist of wonderful children’s books that can help start developmentally appropriate conversations and lead to social emotional skill development!
5 Great Children’s Books for Social Emotional Learning
Some Days by Karen Kaufman Orloff & Illustrated by Ziyue Chen
This simple, rhyming story has lively, colorful, and emotional images that follow a few different children and their different days. The story sweetly shows that on different days you will do and feel different things. Not all days are happy days, not all days are sad days, and there is no judgement of that. This is a great early-ages book for emotional acknowledgement and acceptance.
My Mindful Walk with Grandma by Sheri Mabry & Illustrated by Wazza Pink
A beautifully illustrated and written introduction to mindfulness for young children. The loving relationship between a child and her Grandma allows the reader a sweet perspective of both characters. Grandma teaches her granddaughter patience and presence in a calm, kind way. This is a great introduction to mindfulness for children in that it focuses on the things kids might need help using mindfulness to do in the modern world of instant gratification and grand excitement. The practice of mindfulness generally is the idea of being present in the current moment and in your current body and skin. It has been shown to help children (and adults) of many backgrounds and circumstances in many ways, including emotionally, socially, and intellectually.
They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
This Caldecott honor children’s book is probably my current favorite children’s book (besides my own)! I wish I could put it on every list I make! It tells the simple story of a cat going about the world and others looking at that cat through their own eyes. Its vibrant and unique illustrations help explain that while we are all seeing the same cat, we are really seeing it very differently. It is a beautiful reminder that our individual perspectives can powerfully affect what we see in what we are looking at, and it is completely non-judgemental in that message. Psychology research has shown that perspective-taking is a fundamental building block of empathy, which is an incredibly important social skill for children (that even some adults could use a refresher course on in current times)!
Way Past Mad by Hallee Adelman & Illustrated by Sandra de la Prada
With unique illustrations and poignant emotional depth, this story is a great early reader. It has simple language that many early readers would be able to navigate on their own, and complex emotional perspective that may help them understand some of their own feelings when they are having a bad day. It also addresses the important perspective of how our behaviors and choices when we are mad might affect those around us, and their feelings. This is an especially good read for older siblings dealing with the annoyances of younger siblings, or children who need help understanding the consequences of their own actions on other people. To me the message is that you may have bad days and be angry, but you can get through the feeling of being mad, and the bad days, and you can apologize for the things you did when you were mad (and maybe next time you will be more aware of not doing those bad things when you are mad again!) While simple in its writing for young audiences, its message is quite profound.
When the World Closed by E.E. Thorgaard & Illustrated by J. Shapiro
This imaginative and uplifting story for kids was made specifically for the purpose of developing social and emotional skills during COVID-19 isolation. It is particularly written for children that are starting to read, but still have adults helping them (a bit older than some of the other books on this list). Starting with the initial shutdowns of schools and workplaces, this story follows siblings as they are trying to understand the new experiences and routines they have been facing during this strange time. Instead of getting bored and frustrated, the children decide to build a blanket fort in their living room at the recommendation of their Great Grandmother. Inside the fort, their imagination soars or something magical takes place, and they are whisked away on an adventure that allows them a more global perspective of the events of the pandemic. The message is that we are not alone in our feelings of isolation, we are all in this together. The author’s note at the end of the book gives a little bit more information about the details of the book and the time in which it was written, but probably more importantly, it shares questions for discussion based on the book that teachers and parents can use as discussion starters about the feelings and events of the story. It is a must read for the current times, both during and after the pandemic. (And yes, I wrote it, but other reading experts, educators, mental health counselors, and parents agree that it is a must-read!)
