Pockets Full of Rocks - by Yair Engelberg (Hardcover)

About the Book

Pockets Full of Rocks presents a young daughter's questions to her depressed father. He offers direct answers and promotes the hope that her father will become his old self again. This gentle, hopeful book will help kids cope with a parent's mental illness; it is developmentally appropriate--examples of the father's behavior are spot-on and Ella's questions are exactly the kinds of questions a child would ask--and will be very useful guide for parents as well as psychologist and mental health professionals working young children.

Book Synopsis

This gentle, hopeful book will help kids cope with a parent's mental illness.

As a young girl gently questions her depressed father, he offers direct answers that help her understand what he is going through and promotes the hope that he will become his old self again. This gentle, hopeful book is developmentally appropriate--examples of the father's behavior are spot-on and Ella's questions are exactly the kinds of questions a child would ask--and will be very useful guide for parents as well as psychologist and mental health professionals working young children.

Review Quotes

Engelberg, a psychologist, pens a simple and compelling story of parental depression... Haley illustrates depression with dark clouds, adding layers of texture to brighten the clouds and present depression in the story as an illness, not a villain. By the end, Ella's understanding of Daddy's behavior transforms the clouds of depression into a rainbow of hope... Hold tight to this gentle story about depression.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

About the Author

Yair Engelberg is a psychologist who is certified by the Schneider Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Program for Child and Youth Therapy. This is his picture book debut. He lives in Israel. Visit him at psyedu.co.il/book

MacKenzie Haley is an award-winning illustrator, who also illustrated Snitchy Witch. She lives in Louisville, KY. Visit her at mackenziehaley.com and on Facebook @MacKenzie Haley, Twitter @MacKenzieLea, and Instagram @mackenzie_haley.