Supporting a healthy mind

Beautiful Oops

We've put together a selection of picture books that can help young children to start to understand mental health and support a healthy mind.

They include titles that touch on sadness, anxiety and finding courage and reassurance, and are books which can help to supply useful strategies and support a growth mindset.

  • Rain Before Rainbows

    Author: Smriti Halls Illustrator: David Litchfield

    Interest level: 4-8

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  • Rain Before Rainbows

    Author: Smriti Halls Illustrator: David Litchfield

    Interest level: 4-8

    Reading age:

    A little girl travels through perilous landscapes, helped by the gentle animals that guide her towards the sunlight. A luminous bo…

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  • Goodbye Hobbs

    Author: Emma Bettridge Illustrator: Josephine Birch

    Interest level: 4-5

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  • Goodbye Hobbs

    Author: Emma Bettridge Illustrator: Josephine Birch

    Interest level: 4-5

    Reading age:

    Merlin the dog desperately misses his friend Hobbs, and finds some comforting scent messages from him. A touching story about grie…

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  • Timid

    Author: Harry Woodgate

    Interest level: 6-8

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  • Timid

    Author: Harry Woodgate

    Interest level: 6-8

    Reading age:

    A vibrant and uplifting picture book about managing feelings of shyness to achieve your dreams. Timmy would love to perform on sta…

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  • Out of the Blue

    Author: Robert Tregoning Illustrator: Stef Murphy

    Interest level: 4-5

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  • Out of the Blue

    Author: Robert Tregoning Illustrator: Stef Murphy

    Interest level: 4-5

    Reading age:

    In a world where everything has to be blue, what happens if you like yellow? A joyous celebration of being individual.


    Mae bachge…

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  • I Am Angry

    Author: Michael Rosen Illustrator: Robert Starling

    Interest level: 2-5

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  • I Am Angry

    Author: Michael Rosen Illustrator: Robert Starling

    Interest level: 2-5

    Reading age:

    This fun rhyming tale acknowledges the big emotions that little ones experience and enables 2 to 4 year-olds to find a vocabulary …

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  • How To Be A Lion

    Author: Ed Vere

    Interest level: 3-7

    Reading age: 5+

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  • How To Be A Lion

    Author: Ed Vere

    Interest level: 3-7

    Reading age: 5+

    Leonard is a gentle lion: just because you’re a lion doesn’t mean that you have to roar. A book about ignoring the aggressive…

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  • ABC Mindful Me

    Author: Christiane Engel

    Interest level: 4-7

    Reading age: 6+

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  • ABC Mindful Me

    Author: Christiane Engel

    Interest level: 4-7

    Reading age: 6+

    This inspiring ABC board book introduces mindfulness to young children as it guides readers through the rhyming alphabet. A p…

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  • Be Brave, Little Penguin

    Author: Giles Andreae Illustrator: Guy Parker-Rees

    Interest level: 2-5

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  • Be Brave, Little Penguin

    Author: Giles Andreae Illustrator: Guy Parker-Rees

    Interest level: 2-5

    Reading age:

    All the penguins love playing in the sea, but Little Pip-Pip is scared! While the other penguins tease him, Little Pip-Pip's mum t…

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  • Beautiful Oops

    Author: Barney Saltzberg

    Interest level: 4-8

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  • Beautiful Oops

    Author: Barney Saltzberg

    Interest level: 4-8

    Reading age:

    What should you do when you make a mistake? Celebrate it, of course! This deceptively simple and highly interactive board boo…

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  • My Monster and Me

    Author: Nadiya Hussain and Ella Bailey

    Interest level: 3-5

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  • My Monster and Me

    Author: Nadiya Hussain and Ella Bailey

    Interest level: 3-5

    Reading age:

    A boy introduces both himself and his monster, who has been with him for as long as he can remember. An all-round perfect pic…

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  • Ruby's Worry

    Author: Tom Percival

    Interest level: 3-6

    Reading age: 5+

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  • Ruby's Worry

    Author: Tom Percival

    Interest level: 3-6

    Reading age: 5+

    Ruby loves being Ruby. Until, one day, she finds a worry – and it won't stop growing. How can Ruby get rid of it and fee…

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  • The Worry Jar

    Author: Lou John Illustrator: Jenny Bloomfield

    Interest level: 4-5

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  • The Worry Jar

    Author: Lou John Illustrator: Jenny Bloomfield

    Interest level: 4-5

    Reading age:

    Frida is a bit of a worrier. She worries what clothes to wear to go out, whose table to sit at at school, the peas on her plate an…

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  • The Cloud

    Author: Hannah Cumming

    Reading age: 6+

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  • The Cloud

    Author: Hannah Cumming

    Interest level:

    Reading age: 6+

    Everyone loves art class; everyone except the little girl who sits alone and draws nothing, a black cloud glowering above her

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