There are so many important transitions that happen during your child’s schooling years. Whether they’re starting school, starting a new school, or moving up to higher years in school, some kids are more anxious than others. How can you address these feelings and help ease their nerves? What can you do to get them ready to adapt to a strange new environment, and make new friends?

This list of books is a great place to start teaching them how to overcome any anxiety or worries. In fact, these books are so great, they’ll help you too.

Find Your Girl Squad by Dr Angharad Rudkin and Ruth Fitzgerald, illustrated by Sarah Jennings

Find Your Girl Squad is a practical and innovative approach to friendship for girls–the first step to building brilliant friendships is to know who YOU are. This is the ultimate and authoritative twenty-first-century guide to navigating the web of girl friendships, written by an expert on child psychology.

Buy a copy of Find Your Girl Squad here.

The Worrysaurus by Rachel Bright, illustrated by Chris Chatterton

It’s a beautiful day and Worrysaurus has planned a special picnic. But it isn’t long before a small butterfly of worry starts fluttering in his tummy… Can Worrysaurus find a way to chase his fears away and have fun? The perfect book to help every anxious little dinosaur let go of their fears and feel happy in the moment. Perfect for that first day at school.

Ages 3+

Buy a copy of The Worrysaurus here.

Ready, Rabbit? by Fiona Roberton

Little Rabbit has been invited to a party but is not at all sure that it will be as fun as everyone says… This is a sweet and funny tale about overcoming anxiety and worries through the power of positive thinking.

Ages 3+

Buy a copy of Ready, Rabbit? here.

The Worry (Less) Book by Rachel Brian

We all have a mixture of fun and not-so-fun feelings. And everyone feels worried sometimes. But too much anxiety can get in the way. This is a book for people who worry (so, yeah-everyone!). The perfect companion for children feeling anxious about returning to school or feeling overwhelmed with worried thoughts.

Ages 7+

Buy a copy of The Worry (Less) Book here.