Mental Health Awareness Month, Mushrooms, & More!

Every person no matter their age is going to identify with the narrator of Ode to a Bad Day. From the time she wakes up in the morning to the time she goes to bed at night, everything is just off and doesn’t feel right. Her cereal gets soggy with too much milk, she’s late for school, a cricket in her room won’t stop chirping. But she also has an understanding father, good classmates, and a warm bed to snuggle into that night. She knows that tomorrow, everything could be different. I always love Hyewon Yum’s illustrations, but these might be my favorite. Yum perfectly captures the narrator’s expressions.

This beautiful picture book tackles childhood depression and sadness. One day a dark cloud appears and follows Abigail everywhere she goes. It follows her to school, to birthday parties, to bed. She has people around her who understand and offer support, like her dad, who brushes her hair when she just can’t muster the energy to lift her comb, and another child who has his own cloud and silently sits beside her on a bench. Abigail’s family and friends are there for her on the days she steps outside the cloud, too, and feels the sunshine on her face. This is a great conversation starter about depression and what it feels like.

Jessie Sima’s newest Nimbus and Kelp picture book also uses the metaphor of a cloud to describe depression. No matter how fun the day is, a cloud follows Nimbus the Pegasus. She tries to ignore it on her adventures with Kelp the unicorn, but the more she ignores it, the bigger it gets. When she realizes everyone can see her giant, thundering cloud, she flees into the forest alone. She realizes there that the only way to weather her cloud is to embrace it as part of herself. But she worries Kelp won’t want to be her friend anymore. Will he love her even with the cloud? (Answer: of course.) I like how this picture book shows both what depression looks and feels like and how to be a good ally. As a bonus, Not Quite Narwhal is now going to be a Netflix series! It’s set to air June 19th.

This is a heartwrenching middle grade novel about 9th grader Clementine’s struggle with grief after her younger sister Hailey’s death. A year has passed but Clementine continues to feel numb to the world, though there are days that, somehow, she manages to smile, or complete a task. School is very difficult, and she misses many days, unable to leave bed, and punches a bully. The book moves through all the cycles of grief and how they often overlap and fold into one another, and while things aren’t perfect by the end, there is hope that the future might hold laughter and smiles again. This is a really tough read. Clementine has suicidal thoughts and sometimes self-harms. She has bad experiences with therapists. It’s also beautifully written. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Sara Matsui-Colby.