Valencia Family Resource Library Guide: Books Related to COVID-19

The following titles are wonderful for discussing your child’s emotions. To assist you in getting the most out of these titles, consider using the following Discussion Questions or Observation Prompts.

Discussion Questions:

• For any emotion in any of these titles, you can engage your child by prompting with:
  • “Tell me about a time you felt (angry/happy/silly/scared/etc.)...”
  • “Have you ever helped someone who felt (angry/happy/silly/scared/etc.)? What did you do to help them?”
  • “When you feel (a negative emotion), what makes you feel better?” Observation Prompts:
• No matter what emotion resonates with your child, it’s worth recognizing. Happiness plays just as important a role in our lives as worry. Reassuring your child that emotions come and go for a reason can help them see that emotions aren’t permanent and they can learn from them.

Here are a few ways to begin talking about different emotions with children:

• Anxiety/Worry/Fear:
  • “Tell me about a time you were worried/anxious/scared…”
  • Follow up with: “Feeling worry/anxiety/fear happens for a reason in our lives. It’s our body’s way of telling us something doesn’t feel right. Once we recognize that feeling, we can take action to fix whatever is wrong. In that way fear/worry/anxiety can be a great friend to us!”
  • If their fear is specific to COVID-1, remember to gently correct any misinformation and remind them they are safe and in control. One way to do that might be by saying, “I understand how you feel. But don’t forget -- you’re a smart boy who is in control and can fight germs! Tell me what healthy things we can do to fight germs.”
• Sadness:
  • “Did you know sadness can teach us a lot about ourselves? Paying attention to what makes us sad lets us avoid those things in the future. So when we recognize that we’re feeling sad, let’s try to listen to what it has to say. You can always talk to me about what you’re feeling. Together, we can figure out the message that sadness is trying to tell you.”
• Jealousy:
  • If your child is jealous because friends are still playing together or going on trips instead of social distancing, have them tell you why social distancing is important, how it protects your family and keeps everyone safe.
  • To address the feeling specifically, you could try saying something like, “Jealous is a really interesting feeling. It has so much to say about what makes us happy. Sometimes we don’t even know we might enjoy something until we see someone else doing the thing we want to do or playing with the thing we want to play with. Tell me, what is jealousy telling you about what would make you happy right now?”
• Anger:
  • There are so many reasons a child could experience anger during these strange times we’re living in. Often, anger is merely the vehicle for other emotions, as opposed to actually being enraged by the situation they’re facing. Try to get to the bottom of what’s really going on as well as offering strategies for recognizing and then dissipating their anger.
  • For example: “Talk to me about what’s making you so angry.…”
  • Follow up with: “No one likes to feel angry. One of the hardest parts about feeling anger is feeling like we’re out of control. When we recognize we are angry, we can do things to feel better and get control again. What are positive things you do to get back in control when you’re angry?”
    • Positive examples:
    • Taking deep, calming breaths
    • Running hard to burn off energy
    • Closing our eyes and counting to ten
    • Taking time to be alone

Additional Books About Germs and Staying Home

• A Germ’s Journey (Follow It!), by Thom Rooke M.D.
• Germs are Not for Sharing, by Elizabeth Verdick
• Llama Llama Home with Mama, by Anna Dewdney
• Sick Simon, by Dan Krall
• My Cold Went on Vacation, by Molly Rausch

The following titles are wonderful for discussing your child’s emotions. To assist you in getting the most out of these titles, consider using the following Discussion Questions or Observation Prompts.

Discussion Questions:

• For any emotion in any of these titles, you can engage your child by prompting with:
  • “Tell me about a time you felt (angry/happy/silly/scared/etc.)...”
  • “Have you ever helped someone who felt (angry/happy/silly/scared/etc.)? What did you do to help them?”
  • “When you feel (a negative emotion), what makes you feel better?” Observation Prompts:
• No matter what emotion resonates with your child, it’s worth recognizing. Happiness plays just as important a role in our lives as worry. Reassuring your child that emotions come and go for a reason can help them see that emotions aren’t permanent and they can learn from them.

Here are a few ways to begin talking about different emotions with children:

• Anxiety/Worry/Fear:
  • “Tell me about a time you were worried/anxious/scared…”
  • Follow up with: “Feeling worry/anxiety/fear happens for a reason in our lives. It’s our body’s way of telling us something doesn’t feel right. Once we recognize that feeling, we can take action to fix whatever is wrong. In that way fear/worry/anxiety can be a great friend to us!”
  • If their fear is specific to COVID-1, remember to gently correct any misinformation and remind them they are safe and in control. One way to do that might be by saying, “I understand how you feel. But don’t forget -- you’re a smart boy who is in control and can fight germs! Tell me what healthy things we can do to fight germs.”
• Sadness:
  • “Did you know sadness can teach us a lot about ourselves? Paying attention to what makes us sad lets us avoid those things in the future. So when we recognize that we’re feeling sad, let’s try to listen to what it has to say. You can always talk to me about what you’re feeling. Together, we can figure out the message that sadness is trying to tell you.”
• Jealousy:
  • If your child is jealous because friends are still playing together or going on trips instead of social distancing, have them tell you why social distancing is important, how it protects your family and keeps everyone safe.
  • To address the feeling specifically, you could try saying something like, “Jealous is a really interesting feeling. It has so much to say about what makes us happy. Sometimes we don’t even know we might enjoy something until we see someone else doing the thing we want to do or playing with the thing we want to play with. Tell me, what is jealousy telling you about what would make you happy right now?”
• Anger:
  • There are so many reasons a child could experience anger during these strange times we’re living in. Often, anger is merely the vehicle for other emotions, as opposed to actually being enraged by the situation they’re facing. Try to get to the bottom of what’s really going on as well as offering strategies for recognizing and then dissipating their anger.
  • For example: “Talk to me about what’s making you so angry.…”
  • Follow up with: “No one likes to feel angry. One of the hardest parts about feeling anger is feeling like we’re out of control. When we recognize we are angry, we can do things to feel better and get control again. What are positive things you do to get back in control when you’re angry?”
    • Positive examples:
    • Taking deep, calming breaths
    • Running hard to burn off energy
    • Closing our eyes and counting to ten
    • Taking time to be alone

What we’re feeling Books:

• Bird Stays Home, by Linda Cartolano 
• In My Heart: A Book of Feelings, by Jo Witek
• Gentle Hands and Other Sing-Along Songs for Social-Emotional Learning, by Amadee Ricketts
• Calm Down Time, by Elizabeth Verdick
• Grumpy Monkey, by Suzanne Lang
• Pom Pom Panda Gets the Grumps, by Sophy Henn
• The Feelings Book, by Todd Parr

These titles will have stories, information, or activities regarding staying healthy or coping with COVID-19.

There are also stories that feature breathing, yoga, staying present, and mindfulness in general. To assist you in getting the most out of these titles, consider using the following Discussion Questions or Observation Prompts.

Discussion Questions:

Topics such as mindfulness and “staying present” may be too advanced to discuss with your child. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t find reassurance and tools for dealing with stress as you share these titles. As you're enjoying the books together, you can ask questions to clarify your child’s positive experience with the book. Later, when your child is experiencing stress, you can offer to recreate or reference parts of the books that resonated with them. Additionally, you can offer to sit and read the book again to help them feel better. ○ Examples of questions you could ask:

• “What does this image make you feel?”
• “Didn’t that book make you feel nice? Why do you think it made you feel that way?”
• “I loved that story. What did you love about that story?”
• “Did you have a favorite part of that book? What made that your favorite part?”

​​Observation Prompts:

• When an idea or activity resonates with your child, suggest that you try it. They may want to do it together, or they may want to do it solo. Either is fine and should be encouraged, as this is your child gaining strategies for dealing with stress. Later, when your child is experiencing stress, bring up the activity and suggest they try it again. The more your child utilizes the stress-relieving strategy, the stronger their abilities to cope with stress will become. 

Additional Books:

• Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing, by Christopher Willard PsyD
•  I am Yoga, by Susan Verde
• All Around Us, by Xelena Gomez
• Now, by Antoinette Portis

Click on the title and use your VID to access this eBook through the Valencia library.

Click on the title and use your VID to access this eBook through the Valencia library.

This book is free to access. No login required.

My Hero is You, How Kids can Fight COVID-19, by Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Free pdf download available in 38 languages: https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/iasc-reference-group-mental-hea lth-and-psychosocial-support-emergency-settings/my-hero-you

Free printable book, pdf, or epub available in 2 languages: 

https://akidsbookabout.com/pages/covid-19

Rainbows in Windows, by Yumi

Free pdf download available here: https://helloyumi.com/coronavirus-children-book/

My New Home School, by Chloe Drulis

Free pdf download and video recording available: https://bigideasforlittleminds.com/

COVIBOOK, by Manuela Molina

Available as a free pdf download in 25 languages: https://www.mindheart.co/descargables

Be a Coronavirus Fighter, by Songju Ma Daemicke

Free pdf download available in 12 languages: https://yeehoopress.com/

This book is free to access. No login required. 

The House We Sheltered In, by Freeman Ng

Free pdf downloads available in 3 formats (digital (color or black and white), printable (color or black and white), single page poem: https://www.authorfreeman.com/blog/sheltered/

This book is free to access. No login required.

Free pdfs available in 30 (planned) languages: 

https://www.nabu.org/covid19/#translations

The Princess in Black and the Case of the Coronavirus, by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale

Free pdf download available: https://www.princessinblack.com/