Mindfulness books for children as young as two are the latest runaway publishing trend, the industry has said, with children themselves calling for more titles to help them make sense of their emotions.
Publishers including Magic Cat Publishing are reporting that sales of books for children under 10 years old that address emotions and mental health issues are up almost 40% year on year since 2021.
These titles now account for a quarter of Magic Cat’s publishing list, said Kate Manning, its marketing and publicity director. The success has encouraged the publisher to expand the genre: it will shortly announce a new list of titles for children over 10 years old.
“It’s very much a conscious decision in response to various recent reports on how Covid, climate change and now the cost of living have affected children directly and one that has developed over time to become the core of our publishing,” she said.
Manning also pointed to the Ofsted annual report, which found the social and emotional needs of even the very youngest children had been negatively affected by the pandemic. The report also says this generation is at greater risk of mental health challenges than older age groups.
“We’ve always had a smattering of books on the list that dealt with mindfulness but it’s been a conscious decision recently to see how we can involve mindfulness practices to underpin many of the books we’re commissioning.”
Nielsen Bookscan data on children’s books shows that to date this year, there have been 18% more children’s titles published in the genre of mental health and anxiety than this time in 2021 – and 76% more than this point in 2019, before the pandemic.
But the increase is not, publishers say, generated by overanxious parents: Nielsen’s Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer report found that more than 850,000 children aged up to 17 say they like books on personal development, self-esteem and mental health.
Magic Cat is not alone: HarperCollins found its major new Mr Men Little Miss Discover You series, which explores emotions and wellbeing, was such a success that it has commissioned four new titles to be published in the spring.
In January, it will also expand the genre to older children with a new edition of Elizabeth Day’s bestselling Failosophy for children aged 12 and over.
MacMillan children’s publishing has also launched a range of books for toddlers called Little Big Feelings, a series that now has eight titles. Each book contains tips from a parenting expert.
Laura Horsley, the publishing director for Hachette Children’s nonfiction list, said: “There’s a real appetite for these books, especially when written by authors with proven expertise. A Better Day: Your Positive Mental Health Handbook by Dr Alex George is a recent example: this went straight to the top of the children’s nonfiction chart a few weeks ago.”
Bookshops also say they have seen an increase in parents buying these books for very young children. Natasha Radford, co-owner of the Chicken and Frog Bookshop in Essex, said it started during the pandemic. “But demand has remained high and increased from preschool children to young teenagers,” she said.
Annie Rhodes, from the Norfolk Children’s Book Centre, said: “We have definitely seen an increase in the amount and variety of books published on mindfulness and anxiety aimed at children from the publishers.”
These range from board books for toddlers all the way up to guides for teenagers. “We also get asked for recommendations from teachers on these topics as they have seen an increase in anxiety among their pupils and need the resources to help them guide and advise the children.”
Tamara Macfarlane, the owner of award-winning children’s bookshop Tales on Moon Lane in Herne Hill in south-east London, said the increase in titles was much needed. “Until fairly recently there was very little to offer,” she said. “The growth in books around children’s emotions has been a healthy reflection of this generation of publishers, booksellers, authors and illustrators, parents and teachers’ awareness of the conversation and the importance of children’s emotional literacy.”
Books to help young children with their emotions
For readers aged 2+: Rachel Bright Collection, including The Lion Inside, and The Way Home For Wolf
For readers aged 3+: Big, Bright Feelings series by Tom Percival
For readers aged 4+: What If, Pig by Linzie Hunter
For readers aged 5+: My Beautiful Voice, Joseph Coelho and Allison Colpoys
For readers aged 7+: The Handbook of Forgotten Skills
For readers aged 8+: Slow Down and Be Here Now by Laura Brand
For readers aged 10+: Marcus Rashford with Carl Anka, You Can Do It and You Are a Champion
For readers aged 13+: 10 Steps to Change (new series written by psychoanalysts to be published in January)
