5 Sensory Books We Recommend on World Book Day
By Sensory Integration Education, 2 March 2024
We’re sharing a few sensory books for World Book Day from the many fantastic non-fiction and fiction books on sensory integration, sensory processing and neurodiversity topics. Let us know which books touched you or gave you that inspiring moment of insight.
The Huge Bag of Worries
by Virginia Ironside (Author) and Frank Rodgers (Illustrator)
“Wherever Jenny goes, her worries follow her - in a big blue bag. They are with her all the time - at school, at home, when she is watching TV and even in the bathroom! Jenny decides they have to go, but who will help her get rid of them?
“A funny and reassuring look at dealing with worries and anxiety, to be used as a spring board into important conversations with your child.”
The Kids' Guide to Staying Awesome and In Control: Simple Stuff to Help Children Regulate their Emotions and Senses
by Lauren Brukner
“Packed with simple ideas to regulate the emotions and senses, this book will help children tackle difficult feelings head-on and feel awesome and in control!
“From breathing exercises, pressure holds and finger pulls, to fidgets, noise-reducing headphones and gum, the book is brimming with fun stuff to help kids feel cool, calm and collected. They will learn how to label difficult feelings, choose the perfect strategies and tools to tackle them, and use these correctly whether at home or at school. The strategies and tools are accompanied by cartoon-style illustrations, and the author includes useful tips for parents and teachers as well as handy visual charts and checklists to track learning and progress.
“Suitable for children with emotional and sensory processing difficulties aged approximately 7 to 14 years.”
Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight: What to Do If You Are Sensory Defensive in an Overstimulating World
by Sharon Heller
“With empathy, compassion, and practical tools, a developmental psychologist and sufferer of Sensory Defensive Disorder sheds light on a little known but common affliction in which sufferers react to harmless stimuli as irritating, distracting, or dangerous.
“Bringing both personal and professional perspectives, Dr. Heller is the ideal person to tell the world about this problem that will only increase as technology and processed environments take over our lives. In addition to heightening public awareness of this prevalent issue, Dr. Heller provides tools and therapies for alleviating and, in some cases, even eliminating defensiveness altogether.”
Baby Sense: Understanding Your Baby's Sensory World - the Key to a Contented Child
by Megan Faure and Ann Richardson
“The book's accessible tone and the focus on baby's sleep, calming and development remain in this new edition, while authors Meg Faure and Ann Richardson updated the content to reflect current research, and address questions and requests from both moms and professionals.
“The new edition of Baby Sense is sure to hold the same appeal for parents in that it offers practical solutions for the common issues of infancy. The new content will enhance the ways parents respond to their baby's sensory needs in a sense-able manner.”
Fish in a Tree
by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
“Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her―and to everyone―than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.
“The author of the beloved One for the Murphys gives readers an emotionally-charged, uplifting novel that will speak to anyone who’s ever thought there was something wrong with them because they didn’t fit in. This paperback edition includes The Sketchbook of Impossible Things and discussion questions.”
What sensory books would you recommend?
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