Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of the book. This review is based on my personal opinion and enjoyment of the book.

This book made me cry in the best way. I'm not even sure what to say except BUY THIS BOOK and keep it in every elementary school classroom. Use this to help parents and caregivers understand good ways to talk to kids about trauma. Read this yourself and use the tools it provides. I can promise you, it's worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the National Center for Youth Issues, and the IBPA for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a child who went through similar situations as Zoey, I really loved this book. I wish I'd had it when I was going through all those hard times. Kids don't always have the support Zoey had, so books like this are crucial! I loved the different bookmarks and all the information given in this book. Also, the illustrations are great! :)

This book is about coping skills for children who experience some type of drama in their young lives. This easy read provides creative strategies and analogy to help young children with “big” problems. This book tackles worry, fear, shame, stress, and anxiety. They weigh your backpack down when you going through life. I really enjoyed all the metaphors in the book. Chloe finds out her teacher is going to be out and there will be a substitute. I recommend this to young children to middle grade. I give this book five stars.

I thought that this book was excellent – it makes tough subjects ones easier to talk about.

The book was well written, easy to understand and I liked the way it linked the topics to show that adults do feel these feelings at times too and you are not alone at all. It is a great way to bring up this topic to discuss with youngsters too.

It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

This book helps show children that talking to someone about your feelings is ok. The presence of mental health and going through a traumatic experience shines through. I also loved the diversity in it and the pointers to parents!

The idea of this book was great. There are a lot of children dealing with an unsafe home life who could probably benefit from having their feelings acknowledged and talked through. I just thought the metaphor of the books and bookmarks was a little out of reach for the age of the children this book seemed to be intended for.

A helpful story to help kids consider how our feelings afffect us and to learn which feelings to embrace and which to work to put aside.

Therapists typically love metaphors and symbolism. Who among us hasn't talked to clients about their "toolbox", emotional "band-aids", icebergs, or chains? Sometimes new therapists treating children have difficulty effectively building an impactful metaphor that is relatable and age-appropriate. In Jessica Sinarski's new book "What's Inside Your Backpack?" the metaphor is introduced for you! The author created a perfect narrative of a young girl, Zoey, who is struggling with the experience of trauma-related thoughts and feelings. Full of shame & discomfort, she is reluctant to ask for help. Sinarski and illustrator, Joanne Lew-Vriethoff, walk the reader alongside Zoey as she carries this heavy backpack, laden with big emotions, scary experiences, and uncertainty about the future. As Zoey discloses how much she is struggling, she finds that people help her lighten the load. The author includes helper in Zoey's story like her mom, school teacher, and school counselor. An added bonus is that this book includes much needed diversity, often lacking in the SEL genre! In Zoey's experience, her trauma was due to actions by her abusive father but her coping, trauma reminders, and symptoms are relatable to the experiences of many in therapy.

As I read this book, I was flooded with ideas of how to incorporate Zoey's experiences into clinical practice. The book could certainly be used as a resource for child advocacy center therapists and victim services support staff. Additionally, Sinarski includes each of the primary components of the Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy model creating a FANTSTIC resource to be used form intake through discharge, on section at a time. I absolutely would incorporate a physical backpack and heavy prompts into my sessions to help further the impact of the metaphor about the burden of unaddressed feelings and intrusive memories.

I highly encourage this book to all of my trauma-therapy colleagues! "What Is In Your Backpack?" is sure to be an invaluable resource in your practice!

Kids nowadays face more complications than before: broken home, bullying, and many other things.

This book is the story of a girl who suffered an abusive father who then got separated with his family. The "baggage" she carries burdens her, and she doesn't know how to help herself. It's the adults' job to pay more attention to her and help her cope with her new life.

Recognizing what bothers her would be a tool to help her facing her problems and fears. As an adult, I learn many things from this book to be able to help kids like Zoey.

Received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the idea of this book, a beautifully illustrated book on dealing with tough issues in a child’s life and the weight of all their emotions. It was a tad wordy for my 4 year old to follow along, but the important message remained. Loved the ideas of the bookmarks helping to be brave, and the both/and concept. Will definitely be reading to him again. The illustrations are very cute too.

This is a heavy hitting book for children who are dealing with so much. It may make some kids feel better to know that they are not alone but I’m afraid it may not be as comforting for other, more sensitive children. I’m pretty mixed on how I feel about it so I don’t think I would recommend this one.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I am excited to say that this book was quite good.

At first, when I saw the title, I was like, hmm... what, does she have some cool things in the backpack? But this book is actually really deep. I won't give away all the details, but essentially, it is about the struggles that kids take on in their life and carry with them daily. I really think that this book is a great addition to guidance or counseling libraries, schools/classrooms, or at home libraries. I would suggest it to parents.

I appreciated the message put into this book, and in a therapist office or even a classroom this is a good book to help kids talk about a lot of tough ideas, but it’s a bit wordy for a picture book and gets away from itself a bit. I don’t think this is as successful as it can be,

this book was so beautiful and it put into words something that can be understood easily (about mental/emotional pain) understood by a young child. I don't know what I expected when I first saw the title but what I got was fantastic. I also loved the anti-bias theme with multiple different characters as well as the illustrations looking real. a great tool to have and something I would want in my classroom regardless of the age

A good story which has children visualizing their problems as books that can be put into or taken out of their backpack. The more problems, the heavier their backpack or burden. It discusses ways to remove the books and uses bookmarks with good sayings on them to remind the reader how to stay positive. I liked that the mother and school counselor worked together to help Zoey lighten her load. After suggesting ways to help Zoey deal with her father's anger, the counselor has Zoey call her mom to make sure they are all on the same page. I would definitely recommend this book for libraries, classrooms and at home.


I received an ARC from the National Center for Youth Issues through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance review copy of "What's Inside Your Backpack?" This was a really interesting read as an adult and reminded me in many ways of the popular childrens movie Inside Out. It addresses some really important issues such as children that are feeling unsafe in their own home.

This book is really geared towards school age kids that are struggling with many emotions and going through changes. Because of the subject manner, I think that some older school age kids could also really benefit and learn a lot from the story as well. It addresses feelings such as worry, shame, bravery, fear, hope and excitement to name a few. It also has some poignant parts that explain how you can feel opposite feelings at the same time.

Overall the childens story What's Inside Your Backpack is a really important and impactful book and I wasn't sure what to expect based on the title of the story but I'm happy that I picked it up to read.

What's Inside Your Backpack? Coping Skills for Kids Who Have Experienced Trauma
by Sinarski, Jessica
I am immediately sharing this book with a councilor and a principal at my local schools. I was amazed by the idea with in this book. It is a simple way of helping children adapt to difficult situations. Beginning with a young girl who is upset by life immediate changes. As you read through this you find that there is more to this little girl's story. She is carrying a vary heavy load, and making those problems into a book, and book marks as reminders of how to deal with the moment is a great visual idea that will help kids. I think this book should be in every classroom helping the teachers and adults learn the best way to help their students. This book is a great resource for the students as well.

This is sure to be a best seller! It was well written, the illustrations were appropriate and interesting, and this touches beautifully on some great concepts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

This is very similar to "How Full is your Bucket?" It talks about the invisible loads that children carry with them throughout the day. It is a great way to help kids identify issues they may be dealing with that affect their daily life, as well as what others might be going through - even if it isn't specific. Unlike the bucket books, I think this one is best for kids around grade 4. It will be a good resource to add to my classroom library.