Menu Close

Great Books for Kids with Sensory Issues

Nope, Never, Not for Me! review.

Post contains affiliate links. I was sent some of these books for review purposes but have received no compensation for this post.

A collect of great books for kids who struggle with sensory issues.
My first baby taught me so much about minimalism.

Kids with Sensory Issues Can Be Challenging

My firstborn, Iris, was a sensory seeker. She was rough and tumble, fearless, and wild. She loved deep pressure. Long before we knew anything about vestibular systems and sensory-seeking kids, we recognized this in Iris and did our best to meet her needs. Chuck used to wrap her up in a giant quilt and prop her in the corner. We called her our baby burrito. Many years later, we realized we were giving her the exact sensation her body was craving.

Books for kids with sensory issues.

We’ve learned a lot since our first baby. We have now spent close to twenty years raising kids with special needs. Because of this, I am always on the lookout for resources and I hit the jackpot with these books.

This Beach is Too Loud is a great book for sensory seeking kids.

This Beach is Loud by Samantha Cotterill

This beach is loud tells the story of a little boy and father headed to the beach together.

This Beach is Too Loud tells the story of a little boy who has sensory issues and his day at the beach.
This Beach is Too Loud shows how a little boy with sensory issues handles a day at the beach.
I think the illustrations in the book do a great job of showing what sensory overload can feel like.

The boy is excited and helps his dad get ready, but when he arrives at the beach he finds it is full of sounds and sensations he wasn’t prepared to handle.

This Beach is Too Loud. The little boy's dad helps him cope with the feelings.

Thankfully, his dad has some great calming tools and the two work through his struggles together. The story ends in success and with hope for the next adventure.

Nope, Never, Not for Me! review.

Nope. Never. Not for Me! by Samantha Cotterill

Nope. Never. Not for Me! is a great book for picky eaters. Apollo had a feeding tube for 4 1/2 years. We moved from a baby who couldn’t eat, to a toddler who was tube-fed, to a school-aged kid who was a picky eater.

A really picky eater.

Nope, Never, Not for Me! is a great book for kids with anxiety around eating.

We had a very long journey to get Apollo to eat food. I would have loved to have had Nope. Never. Not for Me! to read to him.

Great books for kids with sensory issues and feeding issues.

Eventually, the little girl in the book decides to allow her dinosaur to try the broccoli. While this method might seem silly and ineffective, we did something similar with Apollo. For kids with intense anxiety around food, just getting them comfortable is an important part of getting them to accept a new food.

Milton the Mealtime Companion Review. This great for picky eaters.

You might remember we used a similar technique with Milton the Mealtime Companion.

Nope. Never. Not for Me! is a great book for kids with food anxiety.

I love, love, love how encouraging the mom is when the little girl finally gets up the courage to try the new food. Just look at this moment between parent and child!

Nope. Never. Not for Me! is a great book for picky eaters or kids with sensory issues.

Cotterill has also written Can I Play Too? While I haven’t read this one yet, I can only imagine it is as good as This Beach is Too Loud and Nope. Never. Not for Me!

How do You Dance review.

How Do You Dance? by Thyra Heder

How do You Dance? Review

Unlike the books by Cotterill, this was not specifically written for kids with special needs, but I like it because it tells the story of one child who doesn’t want to dance. And you know what? That’s perfectly okay.

How Do You Dance? Is full of action and rhythm to delight children and adults alike.
How Do You Dance? Review

This would also be great for movement ideas on a rainy day.

I Am Not a Fox is a charming book about a fox who learns to love who he is.

I Am Not a Fox by Karina Wolf

You might remember a few weeks ago when I reviewed the book I am Not a Fox. I am adding this to the list because I think most kids with sensory (or other) challenges can relate to the fox who doesn’t quite fit in anywhere.

Dad and the Dinosaur

This is one of my favorite books to read to Apollo about anxiety.

“Nicholas wants to be as brave as his dad, but he needs help. That’s why he needs a dinosaur. After all, dinosaurs like the dark, bugs are nothing to them, and they eat manhole covers for lunch (and everything under them for dinner).

With his toy dinosaur, Nicholas can scale tall walls, swim in deep water, even score a goal against the huge goalie everyone calls Gorilla. But when the dinosaur goes missing, everything is scary again.”

I really like how Nicholas and his dad manage to solve the problem together.

So there you have it, friends. The best books I’ve found so far for kids with sensory issues. If you have some suggestions, please leave a comment so I can add them to the list!

Books for Parents of Kids with Sensory Issues

The Out-of-Sync Child

Raising a Sensory Smart Child

Sensational Kids

Loading

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.