CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

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Feeling Anxious: Selected Books about Managing Worry and Fear for Children

Books in this bibliography show characters who are managing worry, fear, and other anxious feelings. Many focus on more transient challenges, such as new-experience jitters, but a few feature characters who are living with and learning to manage chronic anxiety with therapeutic support.

Compiled by Merri V. Lindgren

Picture Books

John's Turn
by Barnett, Mac
Illustrated by Kate Berube. Candlewick, 2022. 32 pages. Ages 5-8

Captain Starfish
by Bell, Davina
Illustrated by Allison Colpoys. Abrams, 2018. 32 pages. Ages 3-6

You Go First
by Bernstein, Ariel
Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal. Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster, 2023. 38 pages. Ages 3-6

Lena's Shoes Are Nervous
by Calabrese, Keith
Illustrated by Juana Medina. Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2018. 32 pages. Ages 3-7

Camp Tiger
by Choi, Susan
Illustrated by John Rocco. Penguin Random House/Putnam, 2019. 40 pages. Ages 4-8

Where Is Bina Bear?
by Curato, Mike
Illustrated by Mike Curato. Godwin Books/Henry Holt/Macmillan, 2022. 32 pages. Ages 3-6

Zola's Elephant
by de Seve, Randall
Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Elephant's Big Solo
by Kurpiel, Sarah
Illustrated by Sarah Kurpiel. Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2022. 32 pages. Ages 4-7

Geraldine
by Lilly, Elizabeth
Illustrated by Elizabeth Lilly. Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook, 2018. 32 pages. Ages 4-7

When Aidan Became a Brother
by Lukoff, Kyle
Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita. Lee & Low, 2019. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Boyogi: How a Wounded Family Learned to Heal
by Moore, David Barclay
Illustrated by Noa Denmon. Candlewick, 2023. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Sometimes When I'm Worried
by Serani, Deborah
Illustrated by Kyra Teis. Free Spirit, 2023. 40 pages. Ages 3-7

Saturday Is Swimming Day
by Yum, Hyewon
Illustrated by Hyewon Yum. Candlewick, 2018. 40 pages. Ages 3-6

Fiction

Henry, Like Always
by Bailey, Jenn
Illustrated by Mika Song. Chronicle, 2023. 40 pages. Ages 4-8

Simon Sort of Says
by Bow, Erin
Disney-Hyperion, 2023. 305 pages. Ages 9-13

A Place to Call Home (Our Friend Hedgehog)
by Castillo, Lauren
Illustrated by Lauren Castillo. Knopf/Random House, 2022. 128 pages. Ages 4-8

Just Right Jillian
by Collier, Nicole D.
HarperCollins/Versify, 2022. 215 pages. Ages 8-12

Rain Rising
by Comrie, Courtne
Harper/HarperCollins, 2022. 327 pages. Ages 10-13

Ferris
by DiCamillo, Kate
Candlewick, 2024. 226 pages. Ages 8-12

Billy Miller Makes a Wish
by Henkes, Kevin
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2021. 179 pages. Ages 7-10

Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone
by Keller, Tae
Random House, 2022. 277 pages. Ages 9-12

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey (Maybe Marisol, #1)
by Kelly, Erin Entrada
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2021. 145 pages. Ages 6-9

The First State of Being
by Kelly, Erin Entrada
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2024. 253 pages. Ages 9-12

Drawing Deena
by Khan, Hena
Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster, 2024. 232 pages. Ages 9-12

Thanks a Lot, Universe
by Lucas, Chad
Abrams/Amulet, 2021. 279 pages. Ages 9-13

Stuntboy, in the Meantime
by Reynolds, Jason
Illustrated by Raul the Third. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2021. 257 pages. Ages 7-10

A First Time for Everything
by Santat, Dan
Illustrated by Dan Santat. First Second/Roaring Brook, 2023. 308 pages. Ages 10-14

Shark Teeth
by Winston, Sherri
Bloomsbury, 2024. 289 pages. Ages 9-12

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.