Reddit mentions: The best children books about violence

I second the Tamora Pierce suggestion. Also definitely Gregor the Overlander! Suzanne Collin's lesser known series (she wrote Hunger Games). I recently finished reading (it's a 5-book series) and it was FANTASTIC. Just amazing. It's a YA series. The House of the Scorpion is also great, might be for your stronger readers. Eragon series is fun, and Dealing with Dragons is still one of my all-time favorite dragon books/series. Bruce Coville is a great author, and his work might be a little young but it's good to have a mix. I absolutely loved everything of his I have read, but especially Aliens Ate My Homework and the rest of that series. Most of these will appeal to the young men, hopefully.



When I was a young lady, I read pretty much anything, but I know a lot of boys like books with a boy main character. I really was a bit horse crazy, so here's some you might look into for your young ladies. The Saddle Club is a very long series about 3 girls and their horse-y adventures. It was really fun and it's great to find longer series because, if they like the first one, there's a lot to enjoy. (Oh a thought - you could always get the first one in a series, then just tell them to get the rest from the library or something, if there's budget concerns) I also liked the Thoroughbred Series and the wonderful Marguerite Henry horse books, especially the famous Misty of Chincoteague but really any of her books is a good read. My all time favorite horse series was and still is The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. Oh, how I loved that book.


There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom was fantastic the first time I read it, and I also like the "Wayside School" books which are both by Louis Sachar. Judy Blume is fun as is Beverly Cleary. Redwall gets a lot of kids into reading, you also might consider some high-level comics/graphic novels to reach a different audience. The Hobbit Graphic Novel has great illustration and I loved reading it so much when I found it one day in a store.


I found history pretty boring so avoided those books but I did enjoy The King's Swift Rider about Robert the Bruce and Scotland, might be the only vaguely historical book I remember reading around those ages. I tried to avoid mystery books more or less, but I loved Encyclopedia Brown (even though according to Amazon it's for younger ages). I enjoyed Harriet the Spy she was a pretty cool girl role-model at the time. My Side of the Mountain was absolutely fantastic and such a great adventure, though I enjoy everything Jean Craigshead George writes. I feel like Julie of the Wolves is pretty standard reading material, maybe not anymore, but what a great story. Oh my gosh, I just about forgot The Indian in the Cupboard, that was such a good story. Anything Roald Dahl is wonderful as is Jane Yolen, I especially recommend the Pit Dragon trilogy. The Golden Compass, So You Want to be A Wizard, Animorphs, Goosebumps, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Kiki Strike, Dinotopia, Song of the Gargoyle and The City of Ember.


I am sure that is way more than you need, but my mind started racing. It was hard to stop once I started -- thank you for that enjoyable tour through my past. Lots of great memories of time spent reading. Hope you find some of this helpful, at least.

Very glad to hear she's in therapy, hopefully with someone who specializes in childhood trauma. I also wanted to recommend the great resources that Sesame Street has available online for children dealing with trauma - https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/traumatic-experiences/ - definitely worth look to see if there might be anything helpful for her and/or you.

There are some good picture books to help young children process trauma as well, such as A Terrible Thing Happened and Healing Days. Given what you said about your daughter having trouble feeling safe with you, or feeling like you weren't able to protect her from the abuse, you might also take a look at You Weren't with Me - definitely will be an emotional read for both of you, but might be very healing.

There are also lots of great childrens books about coping with big feelings more broadly. I recommend The Color Monster, The Way I Feel, My Many Colored Days, and The Feelings Book. Slightly more complex books about feelings include the gorgeous story Visiting Feelings and the very silly How Are You Peeling?. There are also some lovely books of meditations/relaxation strategies for kids such as Breathe Like a Bear, My Magic Breath, and the the Mindful Kids card deck. Some good apps out there as well for teaching self-regulation and mindfulness skills, such as "Stop Breathe & Think for Kids" and "Mindful Powers".

Hope something in there is helpful to you and your kiddo - best of luck!

Hands Are Not for Hitting (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/157542200X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WBhYCbAEPA4ZB

I’ve got boy/girl twin toddlers too! You’re gonna want to get all these books... hitting, kicking, sharing...

It’s great because we read them and practice what they say and the kids totally get it. When my son hits we say “are hands for hitting?” And he says “no” then we say “what are hands for?” And he says “waving” or “clapping”

If he’s just excited and needs to let out energy I redirect him to clap or high five and I meet him at the energy level he wants. If he’s angry, we make sure he know hitting hurts sister and that we need to use gentle hands.

You basically do this on repeat and one day it’ll kinda click. He is almost 2 and still gets aggressive at times but we have a way to diffuse it quickly.

Good luck! Do they hug and kiss yet? That sorta makes it all worthwhile.

I know this is not what you are asking for but i have used this series of books lots and other parents in my mommy and me class love them too. It really has helped my kid not kick & hit also used to quit paci, using for yelling atm. I started with him at 18 mths with this series for kicking during diaper change and it worked great (feet are not for kicking)

Hands Are Not for Hitting (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/157542200X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_u2aIzbWXCSVY8
From this you probably can find a ton of different ones for different situations.

My kid still loves these books and we read them lots, he even looks at the back and shows me the pictures for the ones we don't have and tells me to go to the store to get them lol

Ditto. But maybe not family therapy per se. If they kiddos are young (under 8 or 9), they may or may not have the linguistic ability to really express how they feel. But play therapy should be incorporated as well as that is how children work their feelings. Then, a good therapist can help decipher the themes of their play and what the kiddo needs. They can also recommend good books. I suggest getting The Invisible String and A Terrible Thing Happened.

Also, I'm so so sorry for your loss. Make sure to take care of yourself as well if you begin to feel overwhelmed.

EDIT: I'm sorry I got over-excited about sharing information. But therapy may not be necessary. I work with trauma a lot and there's saying "We treat symptoms, not events." Some kids are incredibly resilient and can bounce back without therapy at all.

It might be the park thing, it may be something else, but something definitely triggered some anxiety issues there. Keep talking to him and get him in the habit of telling you about his day and having open communication with him. Give him a notebook to draw in (Wimpy Kid style) so he has an outlet for whatever's on his mind that is causing this anxiety. If you read it, do so without him being aware of it.

I have adopted kids, one of which has serious anxiety issues. Here's a couple of books that helped us that might help you out, too:

http://www.amazon.com/Helping-Anxious-Child-Step---Step/dp/1572245751/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347889240&sr=8-1&keywords=help+your+anxious+child

This has several excellent strategies for helping a child learn to manage their anxieties, for varying types of anxiety and various reactions kids may have to anxiety. It also talks about how children handle anxiety differently than adults do, and the tools that they're missing because of their immaturity to handle it the way an adult would. This can help you understand why your kid is doing what they're doing instead of what you might expect them to do in response to things and identify specific tools they need to acquire.

http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Thing-Happened-children-witnessed/dp/1557987017/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347889354&sr=1-1&keywords=terrible+thing+happened

This is a book that was written for child witnesses/children who were abused, but I think it's a great book for children with strong anxieties about less scary things (to adults) as well. It can be an excellent introduction to taking a child to therapy (or utilizing your school counselor). It follows a child (raccoon) who was there when something horrible happened, which is portrayed as an ambiguous black cloud and never fully defined. It also never fully explains if this is something that was seen or something that happened to the child. None of the adults in his life know about this thing, and it describes very accurately the symptoms of anxiety and what it's like for this kid to have this thing in his thoughts all the time. It also follows through as the adults in this kid's life react to the child's reactions (upset tummy, behavioral problems, trouble sleeping, etc) and get him some help with those reactions and learning to talk about the black cloud and gain control over it. It provides a context in which you can prove to a child with anxiety that other people also have anxiety and that you can help teach them ways to effectively handle it.

We were having problems with our 2-yr old as well, but she loves to read and behavior books have seemed to help. We make it into a game and praise her when she behaves well. Here's a few of the books:
http://www.amazon.com/Hands-Hitting-Board-Book-Behavior/dp/157542200X/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BRMYJMDZ5DZXN2WKX6G
http://www.amazon.com/Calm-Down-Toddler-Tools-Elizabeth-Verdick/dp/1575423162/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=61o8yc8bs7L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0CHBT71V3RT2DY8M5ZRZ

I had an issue with that in my preschool class. Typically reinforcing using words should work but have you also tried to figure out the emotion behind the aggressive behavior?

It does take some time to stop the behavior as we are teaching our children how to deal with their emotions. Many times they hit, kick, and grab because they don't know how to deal with anger, hurt, or sadness. I like to ask why they hit and I explain why it isn't appropriate. I always say to the kids to tell their friend, "No thank you, I don't like that." Although I was having to repeat this A LOT, it was amazing to hear kids begin using this phrase instead of immediately reacting with aggressive behavior.

When we were having a particularly difficult time with one child, it was brought to the mother's attention who then brought a book to share with the class. You may have heard of it. It's called Hands are not for Hitting.

I'm not sure how well the book works for children. From a child development standpoint, it's best to help the child acknowledge what they are feeling and provide them with tools (words) for how to deal with it or express themselves in a positive manner.

The book Hands are Not for Hitting reduced the hitting by A LOT. Time out made it much worse for us. She flipped out and it became an hours long process of calming down and only increased the hitting. I think our kiddo is just too young for time out. So we got the book and kiddo loved it. We read it when ever she brings it up to us. Occasionally it's part of our going to be books. And if she starts getting hitty we say "hands are not for hitting, what are hands for?" And redirect her. Her favorite is drawing.

My daughter was unfortunately a hitter as well. After trying time out and other methods, we tried a book. It's call [Hands Are Not for Hitting] (http://www.amazon.com/Hands-Hitting-Board-Behavior-Series/dp/157542200X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394044206&sr=8-1&keywords=hands+are+not+for+hitting) and anytime she would hit, we would sit her down and read that book with her. Sometimes it entailed calming her down and then reading the book, but we were very adamant on doing it every time. We had one at her sitter's house and one at our house. We also read it during her night time reading just for good measure.

Some methods work for certain kids and some don't, but that's what ultimately worked for us.

Not exactly on the "fun" side, but this book does a good job helping kids understand how a therapist helps with trauma.

I think I may know this one... was it like a novel children's book or one with pictures and big text?

EDIT: Was it Stand Tall, Molly LouMelon?

Tangerine is one of my all time favourites. one of the first books i ever read. (shout out to the school book fair) Have you read Crusader by Edward Bloor? not as good as tangerine but entertaining none the less.

Might also want to try On My Honor

Is it Safekeeping by Karen Hesse?

Edited to provide a link with more detail than the original link I gave.

With school starting please run to your local library and get

Stand Tall Mary Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell

https://www.amazon.com/Stand-Tall-Molly-Lou-Melon/dp/0399234160

Are you sure it was set in the Middle East? Time Zero has a dystopian setting but hits a lot of your other criteria.

Edit: I would also look at Nasreens Secret School, set in Afghanistan.

A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson is heartbreaking and stunning and beyond worth the short read.

Maybe some of Diana Wynne Jones's books, or Diane Duane's So You Want to be a Wizard series?

Do you mean The Rule of Three?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250059550/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AiiaBb5656DF9

https://www.amazon.com/Well-Sacrifice-Chris-Eboch/dp/0395903742 doesn't entirely match but...

Black Powder

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Powder-Staton-Rabin/dp/0689868766

Hands Are Not for Hitting

This has been working for us: Hands Are Not for Hitting (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/157542200X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_2nkkDbFCW8TTX

We were having an issue with our 2.5 year old hitting at Daycare. We bought the Hands Are Not For Hitting book and read it every night. Maybe you could buy Teeth Are Not For Biting and read that? Or get one for Daycare and ask them to read it to him at every instance of biting.

The library at my school actually has this and another book, http://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Thing-Happened-Margaret-Holmes/dp/1557987017/ref=pd_sim_b_2/175-5420178-0132513

The Breadwinner by Debra Ellis

No, there was this: http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-Be-Wizard/dp/0152049401/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300517950&sr=1-1

On the Head of a Pin by Mary Beth Miller

Edit: Deals with multiple events happening at a party ( the reader doesnt really know what happened) and the affect on the years after. I want to say more but if I do it ruins the story

Had this for assigned reading in 7th grade English: http://www.amazon.com/Year-Impossible-Goodbyes-Sook-Nyul/dp/0440407591/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268065537&sr=8-1

Pretty sure this was only because I went to a magnet school where my class (the entire 7th grade) was seriously like 30% Korean, though. I thought it was a good book regardless, and I've been somewhat interested in Korean culture/history ever since. It actually ends with the outbreak of the Korean War, but it explains everything that lead up to it, with the first half of the book dealing with the Japanese occupation and the subsequent partition of Korea at the end of World War 2, and the second half being about the Soviet occupation and the North's transition to a dictatorship.

I read this two years later http://www.amazon.com/MacArthurs-War-Korea-Undoing-American/dp/1439152942/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268065659&sr=8-2

Fun facts: MacArthur wanted to sow the Yalu River with cobalt to prevent Chinese reinforcements from entering Korea, and he also wanted to nuke Chinese cities and troop positions once China had entered the war.

In every single top ten anime film list.... this has to go on there. somewhere. the movie is just that good.

But by God is it ever the most depressing thing you'll ever watch. I had steeled myself ahead of time, but dammit if I didn't find myself dry sobbing two-thirds of the way through.

Additionally, there is this. I had to read it in the seventh grade. Holy shit, what an obscure memory. from out of nowhere.