Hi all,

I'm trying to do some reader's advisory for a parent who is looking for middle grade or younger books about a child with emotional impairment. Emotional impairment is term used in special education that is characterized by "an inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors; an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances; a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems."

Another helpful keyword might be alexithymia, the inability to identify and describe emotions experienced by oneself.

The parent has made it clear that she is not looking for books about autistic characters or characters with ADHD, or other books where the impairment is a symptom of a condition (such as PTSD) instead of the condition itself.

This parent hasn't been able to find much of anything on her own, and unfortunately I'm not having much luck either. If anyone has any ideas, I would be grateful to hear them.

Best,

Mary Grahame