• Lists

    12 Therapy-Positive Middle Grade Books

    mental health header

    October 1 – 7 is Mental Illness Awareness Week and to boost the openness and acceptability of mental health, I’m sharing 12 therapy-positive middle grade books. I’ve got a number of other book lists available including 16 Middle Grade Books About Mental Health and 9 Middle Grade Books for World…

  • Lists

    Blogging From A to Z Challenge – Depression

    AtoZ Letter D

    According to the World Health Organization 300 million people around the world suffer from depression. That means that many kids and teens either know a family member with depression or are suffering from depression themselves. As usual everyone has a different experience with depression, often paired with other mental illness,…

  • Activities

    AtoZ Blogging Challenge – Health Fair

    Program Name: Community Health Fair What: This is a program we have tried yet, but one that I think would be hugely popular with the community. I’d love to have professionals in the field that can talk about chronic illness, healthy eating, mental illness and maybe some basic screenings for blood pressure,…

  • Reviews

    Book Review: Smack Dab In the Middle of Maybe

    Synopsis: Cricket’s had a rough go of it lately, her father has died, her mama ran off and now she’s stuck with her aunt and cousins who make her life miserable. So when an opportunity presents itself to learn the the truth about a secret room her mama’s always talked…

  • Lifestyle

    So Much More Than "Just" a Picture Book

    Dan Santat dedicated his most recent book, After the Fall to his wife. That’s adorable enough. But, check out his interview with Colby Sharp and get ready to melt at his obvious love and respect for his wife and the journey they have taken. The way Dan talks about anxiety and postpartum…

  • Reviews

    Book Review: Sparrow

    The story opens in a white hospital room after Sparrow’s apparent suicide attempt. The custodian found Sarah on the edge of the school’s roof, but no one will believe that she wasn’t up there to jump. She was up there to fly. When the world on the ground gets to…

  • Lists

    It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/29/17

    I got so much reading done this week and am hoping to get a little more done before heading up to Book Expo on Friday for the day. I finished up Finding Mighty by Sheela Chari about a young boy whose family is embroiled in a mystery surrounding stolen diamonds, parkour…

  • Lists

    It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 3/6/17

    I read two amazing young adult books this week. I finished up The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig – and fell completely in love with the story, the characters, the plot, absolutely everything. I definitely want to spend more time talking about this book, so I’ll be writing up a…

  • Lists

    Bibliotherapy for Teens: 25 Title About Tough Topics

    The idea of bibliotherapy is one that has been around for over 50 years. It is the idea that “the use of selected reading materials as therapeutic adjuvants in medicine and psychiatry; also guidance in the solution of personal problems through directed reading.” (AHIL Quarterly, Summer 1966, p. 18.) There…

  • Lifestyle

    Bibliotherapy for Teens

    Over the past month or so, there has been a lot of talk about bibliotherapy for teens, specifically in an article published in School Library Journal, dealing with “tough” topics including depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD and more.  It’s a wonderful way to connect kids to realistic characters that are dealing with these…