Books to Share During Testing Season

Like it or not, testing season continues to happen year after year. You might not be able to keep it from happening, but you can help alleviate student fear and anxiety by sharing picture books. Here are several books to share during testing season.

Like it or not, high-stakes testing continues to happen year after year. You might not be able to keep it from happening, but you can help alleviate student fear and anxiety by sharing picture books. Here are several books to share during testing season.

You can click on any of the titles below to learn more about each book or find all of these children’s books to share during testing season on my Amazon page.

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Books to Share During Testing Season

Big Test Jitters (aka The Big Test)

Mrs. Hartwell takes on a new adventure as she prepares her class to take the Big Test. Knowing they have studied and are well-prepared, she helps the students practice how to sit quietly, fill in the bubbles, and follow the directions. As her students grow increasingly anxious about the Big Test, Mrs. Hartwell realizes she has to teach the most valuable test-taking skill of all: learning to relax!

Testing Miss Malarkey

The new school year brings standardized testing to every school and Miss Malarkey’s is no exception. Teachers, students, and even parents are preparing for THE TEST-The Instructional Performance Through Understanding (IPTU) test-and the school is in an uproar. Even though the grown-ups tell the children not to worry, they’re acting kind of strange. The gym teacher is teaching stress-reducing yoga instead of sports in gym class. Parents are giving pop quizzes on bedtime stories at night. The cafeteria is serving “brain food” for lunch. The kids are beginning to think that maybe the test is more important than they’re being led to believe.

The Anti-Test Society

Bertha Billingsworth (BB for short) is basically a happy person… until she has to take a test. To her, the word test stands for Terrible Every Single Time, because that’s how she does on them… TERRIBLE! BB’s teacher comes to the rescue by inviting her to become a member of the Anti-Test Anxiety Society. She tells BB that TEST stands for Think Each Situation Through! She also ends up teaching BB the Dynamic Dozen (12 amazing test taking strategies), and convinces her to use her “GET TO” brain instead of her “HAVE TO” brain. Now when BB takes a test, she is calm and focused and thanks to her teacher, the Terrible now stands for Terrific!

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes

Beatrice Bottomwell has NEVER (not once!) made a mistake. She never forgets her math homework, she never wears mismatched socks, and she ALWAYS wins the yearly talent show at school. In fact, the entire town calls her The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes! One day, the inevitable happens: Beatrice makes a huge mistake in front of everyone! But in the end, readers (and perfectionists) will realize that life is more fun when you enjoy everything—even the mistakes.

The Smart Cookie

This cookie has never felt like a smart cookie no matter how hard she tries, especially in comparison to all the clever cupcakes and brilliant rolls in the bakery. Will a dash of creativity and a sprinkle of confidence be enough to help her learn that perfect scores and having all the answers aren’t the only ingredients for intelligence? Grab some resources to pair with this book here.

Last to Finish: A Story about the Smartest Boy in Math Class

Max always liked math until his teacher started using a timer for testing the class on multiplication facts. Max clutches when he tries to hurry. When his missing math folder reveals that Max has been working problems from the older brother’s algebra book for fun, he is invited to join the school math team as well as a program for accelerated math students.

A Little Spot of Anxiety

This story addresses how anxiety can affect all ages and how it can show up in all different situations. The Gray SPOT in the story creates a visual representation of Anxiety so that a child can see when it gets too big, and how to shrink it back to a Green PEACEFUL SPOT. It offers creative strategies for children to help cope with anxiety as well.

Anxious Ninja

Life is hard! And it’s even harder for children who are just trying to figure things out. How can we help our children overcome anxiety? Anxious Ninja experiences difficult emotions that creates temporary paralysis until a friend share some tips on how to handle anxiety.

Buster, the Test Anxiety Crusher

A fun book to teach kids about anxiety and mindful techniques to use in the classroom and at home to help overcome test taking fears.This book was written for all the students in the world who dread the thought of testing days. Anxiety is real and the pressure and stress placed on students to excel on exams and standardized tests is difficult for many students to handle.

Don’t Feed the WorryBug

Say hello to Wince, one of the biggest worriers you will ever meet. From cookies to homework to the weather, Wince worries about everything. And when Wince starts to worry, his WorryBug appears. At first the WorryBug is small and non-threatening, but the more Wince Worries the more his WorryBug grows. Don’t Feed The WorryBug is great story to start the conversation on worry and anxiety.

A Fine, Fine School

Tillie goes to a fine, fine school where kids learn about dinosaurs, build pyramids, and paint portraits. When her principal decides to call all the students and teachers together for an announcement, no one could have predicted he would say that there will be school on Saturdays! Soon everyone goes to school on Sundays, holidays, and even the summer. He loves school so much that he forgets to give anyone time off!

Do you have a favorite book you love to share during testing season? Let me know so I can check it out!