Bibliotherapy:
Books About Eating Disorders

Culled from six sources

These teen books about eating disorders were recommended on more than one highly regarded list.

Appearing on 3 bibliotherapy lists

• One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte
• Fat Chance by Leslea Newman
• I Was A Fifteen-Year-Old Blimp By Patti Stren
• The Fat Girl By Marily Sachs
• I Am an Artichoke by Lucy Frank

Appearing on 2 bibliotherapy lists

• Bathing Ugly by Rebecca Bussell
• Body Blues: Weight and Depression by Laura Weeldreyer
• Extreme Elvin by Chris Lynch
• Hanged Man by Francesca Lia Block
• How I Changed My Life by Todd Strasser
• Hunger Scream by Ivy Ruckman
• Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
• Kim: Empty Inside: The Diary Of An Anonymous Teenager by Beatrice Sparks
• Life in the Fat Lane by Cherie Bennett
• The New Improved Gretchen Hubbard by Ilene Cooper
• The Pig Out Blues by Jan Greenberg
• Second Star to the Right by Deborah Hautzig
• Slot Machine by Chris Lynch
• Squashed by Joan Bauer
• Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutchen
• Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self by Lori Gottlieb

Teen books about eating disorders

I found a number of respected lists of books addressing eating disorders. Most of the books were intended for older children. Others were adult fiction but accessible to mature teens.

By finding the books that were common to more than one list, I hoped to determine the best of the best.

The books are fiction and non-fiction. For that reason, you'll want to find out more about them to determine which is right for a particular child.

This library locator finds the libraries nearest you.

Bibliotherapy is the use of books to help children and teens understand and heal. On the bibliotherapy page you can learn more and also find lists of children's books appropriate for other situations.

For more children's books about eating disorders, you can view the complete lists the above books were drawn from.

• Plainfield-Guilford Township (IN, US) Public Library - Bibliotherapy: Eating Disorders
• Plymouth (MI, US) Library - Food Issues/Weight Concerns
• Louisville (KY, US) Public Library - Dying to be Thin
• Hewlett-Woodmere (NY, US) Public Library - Eating Disorders/Weight Control
• Mid-Continent (MO, US) Public Library - Too Fat, Too Thin, Too Tall, Too Short
• C.S. Mott Children's Hospital (MI, US) - Eating Disorders Resource List

Amazon search results for books about eating disorders.

My wife is the world's greatest Registered Dietitian, so this is a subject close to our hearts. I hope you'll visit her site for more nutrition information: Your Personal Nutrition Guide.

Best Children's Books - Find, Read or Write home page.