These recommendations mainly focus on helping kids with anxiety and worry, however, some are also useful for managing different emotions, indicated by the corresponding feeling icons.

Anxiety
Anger
Sadness

My Angry Robot - Joey Acker & Melanie Acker

This visually engaging book uses a mixture of humour and stories to educate children about handling emotions of anger and aggression. The story describes Angry Bot, who regularly becomes angry and frustrated and doesn’t know how to manage these big feelings. Angry Bot’s builder helps him learn and practise useful anger management techniques. The story includes descriptions of common anger-provoking situations that children can identify with. Furthermore, it offers a range of simple anger management strategies to empower children to safely manage anger.

Recommended for ages 6-11

A little SPOT of Anger - Diane Alber

This clever resource combines storytelling and skill development. The story describes the journey of the angry octopus as he uses coping strategies to manage and calm his anger. The book takes the reader through the steps involved in a muscle relaxation exercise, an evidence-based technique that can help children cope with anger and other big feelings. Whilst it is suitable to read at any time of day, reading at bedtime can be especially useful to help children feel calm and relaxed in preparation for sleep.

Recommended for ages 6-10.

Take the Grr out of Anger - Marjorie Lisovskis & Elizabeth Verdick

This book mixes learning with some light humour to help children learn to manage their anger, and the anger of others. Anger is presented as a normal, healthy emotion and recognises there are many other emotions that can create feelings of anger (such as sadness, guilt or fear). The book includes many anger-management strategies and methods to express anger in a healthy way. It also provides guidance for managing other people’s anger effectively and safely, as well as ways the reader can access additional help if they require it.

Recommended for ages 6-11

Angry Octopus - Lori Lite

This clever resource combines storytelling and skill development. The story describes the journey of the angry octopus as he uses coping strategies to manage and calm his anger. The book takes the reader through the steps involved in a muscle relaxation exercise, an evidence-based technique that can help children cope with anger and other big feelings. Whilst it is suitable to read at any time of day, reading at bedtime can be especially useful to help children feel calm and relaxed in preparation for sleep.

Recommended for ages 4-9.

Angry Ninja - Mary Nihn

This story is an excellent tool to help children learn how to fight and manage anger, particularly managing the bigger, more explosive anger that children sometimes experience. Featuring child-friendly strategies and coping mechanisms, this book is a practical resource to help children to find some calm when life is feeling difficult. With fun illustrations, useful lessons and some humour for both children (and parents) this is a great resource to learn constructive ways to manage anger.

Recommended for ages 4-11.

A Volcano in my Tummy - Warwick Pudney & Elaine Whitehouse

Featuring stories, activities and fun games, this book provides a range of constructive strategies to assist children with managing anger. It clearly differentiates anger as a feeling and aggression as a behaviour, explaining that the feeling of anger is very normal, but behaving aggressively as a result of anger is not ok. The book highlights the importance of using strategies to control anger, and how destructive uncontrolled anger can be when it turns into aggression or violence.

Recommended for ages 8-12.

Resources for children: Anger & Frustration