😬 17 books
Books for children who hate making mistakes
The rubbed-through page. The drawing in the bin. The tears because one letter came out backwards. For some children a mistake doesn't feel like a wobble, it feels like proof they're no good.
These are the stories I reach for when that's happening. In every one a character gets it wrong, and the getting-it-wrong turns out to be where the good bit starts. Read them at a calm moment, not in the middle of the meltdown, and let the story do the talking.
For the kids 🎨
The Big Race
David Barrow
A heart-warming race story about having fun rather than just trying to win.
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Barbara Throws a Wobbler
Nadia Shireen
Puts words and pictures to big meltdowns, so kids can recognise and talk through them.
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How to Catch a Star
Oliver Jeffers
A gentle story about trying different approaches when the first one doesn't work.
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Bitter and Sweet
Sandra V. Feder
A gentle look at the mixed-up, bittersweet feelings around big life changes.
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What Do You Do With a Problem?
Kobi Yamada
Reframes problems as something to face, learn from and grow from.
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Step-By-Step: Drawing People
Fiona Watt
Shows kids that drawing well is a skill you build step by step, not a talent you're born with.
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A Whale of a Mistake
Ioana Hobai
Turns a giant mistake into something beautiful — a lovely talking point after mishaps.
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The Colour Monster: The Feelings Doctor and the Emotions Toolkit
Anna Llenas
Hands kids (and grown-ups) real tools for calming big feelings.
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Aaron Slater, Illustrator
Andrea Beaty
For kids who feel behind — because practice, not talent, is what gets you there.
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Beautiful Oops!
Barney Saltzberg
Every smudge, tear and wonky line is the start of something, not the end.
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Room For Us All
Lu Fraser & Sarah Warburton
The squirrels realise they've been unkind, own it, and put it right.
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Lost and Found
Oliver Jeffers
Changing your mind isn't giving up. Knowing when to adjust is its own skill.
Buy on Hive →The Great Paint
Alex Willmore
One very funny frog who paints for the joy of it, then owns it when he messes up.
Buy on Hive →Tiger, Don't Worry!
Daishu Ma
Tiger breaks things and bolts. Owning up turns out to be the easier way.
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A Great Big Cuddle
Michael Rosen
Poems short and funny enough to win over any poetry-sceptic. No 'doing it wrong'.
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The Artist
Ed Vere
Not about the going-wrong bit, but how she finds her way back afterwards.
Buy on Hive →For the grown-ups 💛
Black Box Thinking
Matthew Syed
For the grown-ups: why treating failure as data changes everything.
Buy on Hive →Three things to try alongside the books
- Make your own mistakes out loud: "Oops, I burnt the toast. Never mind, I'll try again."
- Praise the trying and the fixing, not just the finished thing.
- Keep one wonky drawing on the fridge on purpose.
More on the thinking behind these in what is growth mindset?
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