Books That Help Kids Work Through Change
April 2, 2025 by Christina Shawn Leave a Comment
For all the practice we have with change, it amazes me that it can still be so tough. But for kids, it can be even harder to accept change. Whether that’s sleeping in a big kid bed, adjusting to a divorce, welcoming a new sibling, moving to a new home, or outgrowing their favorite shirt, change can rock their world.
Here are some tips (according to Ashley Cullins of the “Big Life Journal“) on how to help ease a child’s transition through change.
When possible, give them time to prepare.
Listen and validate their feelings and concerns.
Read books about big life changes
Keep routines as consistent and stable as possible
Provide connection and play
Give them choices and ask for their help
Talk about things / changes they successfully coped with in the past
Let’s dive deeper into #3. Books can help kids see themselves while also creating enough distance to talk about their feelings through the experiences of the books’ characters. Here are just a few recommendations:
MOVING
Evelyn Del Ray is Moving Away
by Meg Medina and Sonia Sánchez
This is one of my favorite friendship / moving stories.
“The tenderness of Meg Medina’s beautifully written story about friendship and change is balanced by Sonia Sánchez’s colorful and vibrant depictions of the girls’ urban neighborhood.”
NEW BABY OR BLENDED FAMILY
And Then Came You: When families grow, love grows too
by Christina Shawn and Shahrzad Maydani
At turns humorous and heartwarming, this book validates a child’s not-so-sure feelings about new family members (a stepdad, a dog, a baby sister), while demonstrating that when families grow, love grows too.
DIVORCE
Two Homes, One Heart
by Jessica Young and Chelsea O’Byrne
This is a touching, lyrical picture book about a family going through a divorce and the emotional journey of a young girl facing a tough change in her home life.
CHANGE OVER TIME
Before I Lived Here
by Stacy S. Jensen and Victo Ngai
This present-to-past book takes a journey through time to show how the land this boy lives on has changed over the years.
DEATH
Peaches
by Gabriele Davis and Kim Holt
Side by side with Daddy and Grandma, a young girl is determined to take part in her family’s tradition of baking the perfect peach cobbler—just like her mama used to.
SEPARATION
Springtime Storks: A Migration Love Story
by Carol Joy Munro and Chelsea O’Bryne
This book is inspired by a true story of a stork overcoming an injury that limits her flight. She cannot migrate anymore, but she learns that love persists even though her life has changed.
GROWING UP / EVOLVING
Acorn Was a Little Wild
by Jen Arena and Jessica Gibson
I love how in Acorn Was a Little Wild we see change as an exciting adventure.
CHANGE AND BIG FEELINGS
Moo Hoo and Baa Haa
both by Audrey Perrott and Ross Burach
Moo Hoo and its companion book Baa Haa show that we all have different ways of expressing our emotions and they are all okay.
The most important way to help kids with change is to be there with them through it. Sometimes a book gives us a reason to sit together and talk about our feelings, our lives, our hopes, and our connections to those crazy characters on the page.
Christina Shawn is an author, reading specialist, literacy coach, and mom. She is curious about the world around her and probably asks too many questions. But her favorite answers come from the minds of budding new readers and imaginative kids feeling their way through the world.
https://www.christinashawn.com/
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