When young people experience difficulties and challenges, reading about characters facing similar situations can help them cope. Bibliotherapy is the therapeutic use of reading materials for help in solving personal problems. The Association of Hospital and Institution Libraries defines bibiotherapy as 'The use of selected reading materials as therapeutic adjuvants in medicine and psychiatry; also guidance in the solution of personal problems through directed reading." (see ALA Professional Tips wiki on Bibliotherapy).

Websites

ALA Professional Tips Wiki: Bibliotherapy
http://www.maginationpress.com/bbytopic.html
Definitions and sample print and online resources from the American Library Association.

Bibliotherapy and Realistic Fiction Booklists
http://librarybooklists.org/fiction/children/jbibliotherapy.htm
A compilation of links to booklists on topics ranging from bullying to sleep issues to substance abuse, as well as books supporting character education.

Bibliotherapy Booklists: Helping Young Children Cope in Today's World
http://clpgh.org/research/parentseducators/parents/bibliotherapy/.
Booklists on over 35 important topics, prepared by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Bibliotherapy Education Project
http://www.library.unlv.edu/faculty/research/bibliotherapy/
A project of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Libraries and College of Education on evaluating materials for bibliotherapy work with children and adolescents.

Children’s Picture Book Database
http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/
The University of Miami produces this item. It is a useful resource for bibliotheraputic type picture books on many topics.

Educators for Social Responsibility
http://www.esrnational.org/
A list of web resources for teaching about conflict resolution.

Jefferson County Public Library: Bibliotherapy
http://www.mjcpl.org/bibliotherapy
30+ booklists that address difficult situations, such as death, terminal illnesses, being bullied, chronic illnesses, and divorce, plus special family situations including military parents, single-parent families, and adoptive families.

 
Books
Links point to records on WorldCat to help you find these books in libraries.

Campbell, Laura Ann. Storybooks for Tough Times. Fulcrum Publishers, 1999.
There are 15 topics that cover abuse to war in this title. This is slight for a bibliography of helping titles, however, the format is very useful. Each title has a short story summary, a making connections point and discussion questions. For those working with discussion groups on sensitive issues for the first time, these sample titles with a discussion point and questions should prove helpful.

Coon, Cheryl. Books To Grow On: A Guide to Using the Best Children’s Fiction for Everyday Issues and Tough Challenges. Lutra, 2004.
A comprehensive volume which identifies books about issues that parents may want to discuss with their young children. The book brings together a solid selection of (mostly) picture books and middle-grade novels by a number of well-regarded children's book authors.

Golding, Jacqueline M. Healing Stories: Picture Books for the Big & Small Changes in a Child's Life. M. Evans, 2006.
Featuring children's classics and library sensations, this title addresses kids' struggles while offering adults information they need to make right choices for their kids. It also includes tips to make reading fun

Kolencik, Patricia Liotta, and Carianne Bernadowski. Teaching with Books that Heal: Authentic Literature and Literacy Strategies to Help Children Cope with Everyday Problems. Linworth Pub, 2007.
From the Introduction: "This book provides elementary librarians and teachers with a compendium of quality children's book selections with accompanying reproducible literacy lessons as well as annotated book lists whose developmental themes reflect a variety of situations, conflicts, and emotions that trouble and challenge children."

Recob, Amy. Bibliotherapy : When Kids Need Books: A Guide for Those in Need of Reassurance. iUniverse, 2008.
From the book cover: "Everyone has dealt with at least one of the issues listed in this book at some point in his/her lifetime. Whether that issue was conquered with the help of a loved one, through therapy, or is still weighing on the individual, the therapeutic power of the book is often overlooked."