Books About Anxiety & Worry
Page 1 of 5 · sorted by reading level
Stories about overcoming fears, managing anxiety, and building courage — tools for anxious readers.
486 books
This collection of 486 books about anxiety & worry spans picture books through Grade 9. Reading level alone doesn't tell parents whether a book is right for a child — text difficulty and emotional weight grow at different rates, especially for strong, twice-exceptional, or sensitive readers. HootRated rates every book on this list for both, so you can match to your child's actual readiness on both axes.
Across this list, 46% of the titles are rated Gentle or Mild — appropriate for sensitive readers or kids reading ahead of their emotional comfort zone. 8% are rated Intense or Very Intense, with heavier thematic territory for readers ready to tackle weighty subjects. Average content intensity for the list is 2.5/5.
Use the intensity badges (color-coded green → red) to filter by emotional readiness rather than just age. For more on what each intensity level means, see our rating methodology.
A fox
Alice K. Flanagan
A pet
Alice K. Flanagan
Andy & Sandy and the big talent show
Tomie dePaola
Lalaloopsy
Quinlan B. Lee
At the Fair
Peter Sloan, Sheryl Sloan, Sundance/Newbridge LLC Staff
Don't hit me!
Bernette G. Ford
Get a Clue!.
Quinlan B. Lee
Jabari Jumps
Gaia Cornwall
Stick and Stone
Beth Ferry
Wendell the Worrier
Jill L. Urban Donahue, Jill Urban Donahue
Floop in the dark
Carole Tremblay
Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world
Mo Willems
Escape from the dark
Peter Lancett
Snow day!
Lester L. Laminack
Splat the cat sings flat
Rob Scotton
Jesus, God's only Son
Dennis G. Jones
The Face in the Dark Mirror (Zone Books: Dark Man)
Peter Lancett
Bedtime for Frances
Russell Hoban
Hey, Al
Arthur Yorinks
Love in the Library
Maggie Tokuda-Hall
Owl Babies
Martin Waddell
Picture Book of Anne Frank
David A. Adler
Snow day!
Courtney Carbone
The Story of Anne Frank (Lifetimes)
Stewart Ross
Just a thunderstorm
Gina Mayer
What a bad dream
Mercer Mayer
I want my light on!
Tony Ross
Pirates!
Jane E. Gerver
The fall of the house of Usher
Matthew K. Manning
Tiptop cat
C. Roger Mader
Just Beyond
Nichole Matthews
Sun
William B. Rice
The Dragon Prince
Peter Wartman
The Storm in the Barn
Chicken Little
George Bridge
Creepy pair of underwear!
Aaron Reynolds
The Littles and the big blizzard
Teddy Slater
The emerald berries
Poppy Green
Little Rock Nine
John Perritano
Mystery of Bloody Mary
Nel Yomtov
Return to Ghost Camp
R. L. Stine
Clyde Monster
Robert L. Crowe
Don't go to Sleep
R. L. Stine
Karen's bully
Ann M. Martin
Super-fine Valentine
Bill Cosby
The Beast From the East
R. L. Stine
Eliza's kindergarten pet
Alice B. McGinty
Facing Your Fear of Water
Heather E. Schwartz
Facing Your Fear of the Dark
Heather E. Schwartz
Karen's Plane Trip
Ann M. Martin
The planet of the Gargand
Clotilde Bruneau
Welcome to Feral
Mark Fearing
Facing Your Fear of Shots
Heather E. Schwartz
Green Lantern
Matthew K. Manning
Horrors of the Black Ring
Robert Lawrence Stine
I Live in Your Basement
Robert Lawrence Stine
Karen's School Bus
Ann M. Martin
Little Bear goes to kindergarten
Jutta Langreuter
Monster Blood For Breakfast
R. L. Stine
Moon Camp
Barry Gott
My Little Pony
D. Jakobs
The Barking Ghost
Robert Lawrence Stine
The Dark Candle
Peter Lancett
The curse of Camp Cold Lake
Robert Lawrence Stine
Broken Chains (Uptown Downtown Series)
Fearon
Camel Bells
Janne Carlsson
Facing Your Fear of Blood
Heather E. Schwartz
Facing Your Fear of Plane Rides
Heather E. Schwartz
I Survived the Nazi Invasion 1944
Lauren Tarshis
Insults Aren't Funny
Amanda Doering
Invasion of the Body Squeezers - Part 1
R. L. Stine
Karen's Monsters (Baby-Sitters Little Sister)
Ann M. Martin
Karen's stepmother
Ann M. Martin
Love monster & the scary something
Rachel Bright
One dark and scary night
Bill Cosby, Varnette P. Honeywood
Peanut butter and jellyfish
Jane O'Connor
Planet Of The Lawn Gnomes
R. L. Stine
Princess and the Poison Pea
Wiley Blevins
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Eleanor Coerr
South Africa 19481994
Rosemary Mulholland
The Holocaust
Stuart A. Kallen
When the Ghost Dog Howls
Robert Lawrence Stine
World History Biographies: Anne Frank
Ann Kramer
A Lye Soap Bath (Little Stinkers)
David Sargent
Are You Terrified Yet?
Robert Lawrence Stine
Creature Teacher
Robert Lawrence Stine
Cry of the cat
Robert Lawrence Stine
Dr. Maniac vs. Robby Schwartz
Robert Lawrence Stine
Facing Your Fear of Storms
Heather E Schwartz
Isabel Saves the Prince
Joan Holub
It came from beneath the sink!
Robert Lawrence Stine
Karen's Big Lie (Baby-Sitter's Little Sister #38)
Ann M. Martin
Karen's School Picture
Ann M. Martin, Susan Tang
List
Matthew K. Manning
Little elephant runs away
Wolfram Hänel
Mist
Matthew K. Manning
Night of the living dummy II
Robert Lawrence Stine
Presidents' Day
David F. Marx
Recess warriors
Marcus Emerson
Say Cheese - and Die Screaming!
R. L. Stine
For teens (ages 13+)
174 more books on this list are written for readers 13 and up. A few of them:
Danger in the Dark
Peter Lancett
Danger in the Dark
Peter Lancett
The Dark Side Of Magic
Peter Lancett
The Dark Side Of Magic
Peter Lancett
Six #1
Jody Houser
Six #1
Jody Houser
Dark Dreams
Peter Lancett
Dark Dreams
Peter Lancett
Gun in the Back (Junkyard Dan Series) : (Junkyard Dan Series)
Elisa Leonard
Gun in the Back (Junkyard Dan Series) : (Junkyard Dan Series)
Elisa Leonard
Nightschool
Svetlana Chmakova
Nightschool
Svetlana Chmakova
Dont Get Caught
Eleanor Robins
Dont Get Caught
Eleanor Robins
Made for each other
Paul D. Storrie
Made for each other
Paul D. Storrie
Straight Out of Brooklyn #6
Saladin Ahmed
Straight Out of Brooklyn #6
Saladin Ahmed
Dark Waters of Time
Peter Lancett
Dark Waters of Time
Peter Lancett
Rebel heart
Moira Young
Rebel heart
Moira Young
Boruto
Ukyo Kodachi
Boruto
Ukyo Kodachi
Bridge of Dark Tears
Peter Lancett
Bridge of Dark Tears
Peter Lancett
Playing the Dark Game
Peter Lancett
Playing the Dark Game
Peter Lancett
Dark Garden
Peter Lancett
Dark Garden
Peter Lancett
Dark Music
Peter Lancett
Dark Music
Peter Lancett
New moon
Young Kim
New moon
Young Kim
Evertrue
Brodi Ashton
Evertrue
Brodi Ashton
Girl of nightmares
Kendare Blake
Girl of nightmares
Kendare Blake
The Good Braider
Terry Farish
The Good Braider
Terry Farish
The Past is Dark
Peter Lancett
The Past is Dark
Peter Lancett
The dead girls of Hysteria Hall
Katie Alender
The dead girls of Hysteria Hall
Katie Alender
What's left of me
Kat Zhang
What's left of me
Kat Zhang
Sulfur Heart
Brooke Carter
Sulfur Heart
Brooke Carter
Questions parents ask about this list
- What's on this books about anxiety & worry list?
- Books About Anxiety & Worry contains 486 books spanning picture books through Grade 9. Stories about overcoming fears, managing anxiety, and building courage — tools for anxious readers. Every book on the list is rated for reading level and content intensity so you can pick what matches your child.
- What age range is appropriate for this list?
- Books on this list span picture books through Grade 9. 224 (46%) are rated Gentle or Mild; 41 (8%) are rated Intense or Very Intense. Average intensity is 2.5/5. Match the intensity badge to your child's emotional readiness.
- How is this list curated?
- HootRated rates every book on this list for both reading level (text difficulty) and content intensity (emotional weight) — the two axes parents need to choose books. See our methodology for how books make a curated list.