Self-Esteem Books for Children

Culled from six sources

These self-esteem books for children were recommended on more than one highly regarded list.

Locate a book at a nearby library | Locate a book on Amazon
(links open new windows)

Appearing on 5 bibliotherapy booklists

• I Like Me! by Nancy Carlson

Appearing on 4 bibliotherapy booklists

• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (we have a review of the sequel, Boundless Grace.

Appearing on 3 bibliotherapy booklists

• Arthur's Nose by Marc Brown
• I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
• I'm Gonna Like Me, Letting off a Little Self Esteem by Jamie Lee Curtis
• Little Mo by Martin Waddell

Appearing on 2 bibliotherapy booklists

• An Enchanted Hair Tale by Alexis DeVeaux
• Hooray for Me by Remy Charlip and Lilian Moore
• I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe
• Incredible Me by Kathi Appelt
• Little Red Ant and the Great Big Crumb retold by Shirley Climo
• The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle
• The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin
• So What? by Miriam Cohen
• Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
• "You Look Ridiculous" Said the Rhinoceros to the Hippopotamus by Bernard Waber

Self-Esteem Books for Children Special Mentions

All the children's books about self-esteem below are reviewed on the site. Those that appear with an asterisk also appeared on one list of self-esteem books for children.

• *Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
• *I Wish that I Had Duck Feet by Theo. LeSieg (Dr. Seuss)
• *My Book About Me by Dr. Seuss
• *The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss
• *Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
• *The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
• *Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
• Three Nasty Gnarlies by Keith Graves
• The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen

Self-esteem books for children

I found six respected lists of children's books addressing the issue of self-esteem.

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

The books are geared for different ages and situations. For that reason, you'll want to find out more about them to determine which is right for a particular situation.

This library locator finds the library nearest you.

Bibliotherapy is the use of books to help children understand and heal. On the bibliotherapy page you can learn more and also find lists of children's books appropriate for other situations. (If your child is being picked on, you'll want to visit our children's books about bullying page.)

For more children's books about self-esteem, you can view the complete lists the above books were drawn from.

Allen County (Indiana) Public Library

Self Esteem Booklist

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Bibliotherapy: Self Esteem

Logan (Utah) Library

Children's Books about Self-Esteem

The Monroe (Indiana) Public Library

Self Esteem/Individuality/Self Concept Bibliography

Southern Oregon Pediatrics

Self-Esteem Book List

Waltham (Massachusetts) Public Library

Self Esteem Books for Kids

Amazon search results for self-esteem books for children.

If your child's self-esteem issues manifest as timidity, you may also be interested in a printable book about shyness available from this site.

The bibliotherapy page contains more booklists.

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