Books for a Trauma-Informed Practice
A helpful list of books for adults and children to find guidance, comfort and information about trauma-related experiences.
For Adults
- Brown, Brené. Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience.
- Delahooke, Mona. Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges
- Kessler, David. Making Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief
- Koplow, Leslie. Emotionally Responsive Practice: A Path for Schools that Heal, PreK-6
- Lierberman, Alicia F., Chandra Ghosh Ippen, and Patrician Van Horn. Don’t Hit Mommy! A Manual for Child-Parent Psychotherapy with Young Children Exposed to Violence and Other Trauma.
- Lierberman, Alicia F. et al. Losing a Parent to Death in the Early Years: Guidelines for the Treatment of Traumatic Bereavement in Infancy and Early Childhood
- Levine, Peter A. Trauma-Proofing Your Kids: A Parents’ Guide for Instilling Confidence, Joy and Resilience
- Muhammad, Gholdy. Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning
- Shalaby, Carla. Troublemakers: Lessons in Freedom from Young Children
- Van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
- Winfrey, Oprah, and Bruce D. Perry. What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
Children's Literature
- All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker
family struggles, separation
- The Circle in the Sky by Karl James Mountford
death
- Dad Bakes by Katie Yamasaki
formerly incarcerated parent
- Daddy’s Waves by Chandra Ghosh Ippen
parent with mental illness
- Death is Stupid by Anastasia Higginbotham
death
- Divorce is the Worst by Anastasia Higginbotham
divorce
- Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya
changing family and community
- Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
police violence
- Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
incarceration, deportation, family finances, racial profiling
- Holdin Pott by Chandra Ghosh Ippen
big feelings
- The Invisible String by Patricia Karst
attachment, separation anxiety, loss, and grief
- Jett Jamison and the Secret Storm by Kimberly Behre Kenna
childhood trauma
- Listening to My Body by Gabi Garcia
connection between sensations and feelings
- Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour
refugee crisis
- Mama’s Waves by Chandra Ghosh Ippen
parent with mental illness
- Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing by Kenesha Sneed
death, loss, healing
- Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson
incarcerated parent, freedom-dreaming
- Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
white supremacy and white privilege
- Once, I was Very, Very Scared by Chandra Ghosh Ippen
trauma in the classroom
- Out of a Jar by Deborah Marcero
understanding and expressing feelings
- Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham
COVID
- The Rough Patch by Brian Lies
death, grief
- The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall
anger, art, and redemption
- Something Thing Happened in our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, et. al
community trauma
- You Ruined It by Anastasia Higginbotham
sexual assault
- You Weren’t With Me by Chandra Ghosh Ippen
separation
