Last month a child I know personally came to me crying because she learned her mother was incarcerated. After sobbing her heart out to me her last request was:

"... and don't give me a book Ms. Nichole. Every time I have a problem you are always giving me a book to read!"

I replied something like, "Sweetheart I'm a librarian, not a shrink. I can listen but I can't help, not really. Maybe reading a book can help?"

She said "no. I'm too sad to read."

Since books were not an option at that time, I sat her down with my tablet and headphones and let her watch this:

Then I downloaded the following app on her tablet (her dad said it was okay:) Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration.

Yesterday, dad thanked me for offering his daughter support, and told me she was ready to start reading books again. I recommended these:

    

I'm not a therapist or a counselor so I can't offer much, but I can recommend books and resources.  If you know a kid in a similar situation, maybe these resources can help them too.