Gentle Stories for brave hearts.
Emotionally supportive children’s books by Australian author Kim Hicks
helping young readers build resilience and psychological wellbeing
Stories that help children feel safe, understood, and never alone — even through life’s harder moments.
Kim Hicks is an Australian author, military veteran, former police officer, and advocate for psychological wellbeing.
Kim’s work is shaped by a deep understanding of human resilience and the quiet strength carried within families.
Healing Storybook is a collection of emotionally supportive children’s books by Australian author Kim Hicks, helping young readers build resilience, compassion, and psychological wellbeing.
Having served her country in the armed forces before dedicating more than two decades to frontline policing, Kim brings rare depth, compassion, and authenticity to her writing — transforming real human experience into stories that comfort, guide, and empower young readers.
Her Healing Storybook series was created to help children understand life’s unseen struggles while reminding families that strength is often found in tenderness.
Kim’s work sits at the intersection of courage and compassion — where storytelling becomes not just something we read, but something that helps us heal.
Kim has over 20 years of frontline service.
Kim Hicks is the founder of Healing Storybook Publishing and the creator of the Healing Storybook YouTube channel, which shares stories and resources supporting emotional wellbeing, resilience, and mental health.
YouTube: THENEXTCHAPTERHealingStorybook
and Youtube/HealingStorybook
Veteran • Former Police Officer • Mother • Author
Your child can grow with Healing Storybook Trauma Informed children’s literature.
Created by former first responder Kim Hicks
🌿 SMALL HEARTS Start Here — Ages 3–6
Gentle stories that help young children feel safe and understood.
AVAILABLE TITLES
🌿 BRAVE HEARTS Growing Strong — Ages 6–9
Stories that deepen emotional awareness and resilience.
COMING SOON
🌿 GROWING HEARTS - Ready for More — Ages 7–11
Richer narratives for thoughtful readers prepared for greater emotional depth.
WATCH THIS SPACE
AVAILABLE TITLES
AVAILABLE TITLES
The Invisible Cloud
A PTSD Healing Story
🌿 Early Hearts Collection - Created especially for ages 3–6 and meaningful for any family walking through healing.
A Gentle Story to Help Young Hearts Understand PTSD
The Invisible Cloud is a children’s book about PTSD designed to help young readers process trauma safely.
A compassionate story that helps children understand trauma in a way that feels safe, reassuring, and age-appropriate.
Told gently through a child’s voice, the story allows young readers to recognise their own feelings while helping families open the door to meaningful conversation.
Written from the heart of lived experience, this book supports families navigating difficult emotional terrain — reminding children that they are never alone.
Written by military veteran and former frontline police officer Kim Hicks.
Companion Trauma-Informed Colouring Book
The Invisible Cloud
A PTSD, Anxiety & Trauma-Informed Colouring Book for Children and First Responder Families
When someone in a family lives with PTSD or high-alert work stress, children feel it — even when no one explains it.
The Invisible Cloud: A Colouring Book and Calm Companion is a trauma-informed resource designed to gently support children and caregivers navigating anxiety, nervous system overwhelm, and the quiet “after” that can follow demanding shifts.
This companion workbook includes:
Reflective prompts for children
Regulation tools explained in simple language
Nervous system awareness (including the Window of Tolerance)
Gentle “For the Grown-Ups” guidance throughout
Mindful colouring pages designed to create space and calm
It is especially supportive for first responder, military, and veteran families — and for any home shaped by PTSD or chronic stress.
This book is not about fixing feelings.
It is about understanding them.
And learning how to come back to steady together.
Created by Australian author, veteran, and former police officer Kim Hicks, this companion blends lived experience with practical, compassionate tools families can use at home.
Because storms pass.
Because repair matters.
Because steady can be found again.
The Invisible Backpack and the Feather
🌿 Early Hearts Collection - Created especially for ages 3–6 and meaningful for any family walking through healing.
The Invisible Backpack and the Feather is a gentle rhyming story that helps children understand the unseen emotional weight someone they love may be carrying.
Once a brave first responder, Mum spent her days helping others through life’s hardest moments. But over time, those experiences gathered quietly — like stones in an invisible backpack.
When the weight becomes too heavy, Mum takes a courageous step toward healing. With support, compassion, and love, the stones begin to change… transforming into feathers that lift rather than burden.
Created to softly introduce children to post-traumatic stress (PTSD), this story reassures young readers that big feelings are not something to fear — and that asking for help is one of the bravest things a person can do.
A comforting book for families navigating trauma, recovery, and emotional growth — reminding us all that no one is meant to carry their backpack alone.
Feathers From Stones
A PTSD Story
Feathers From Stones
A PTSD Story
Mum carries an invisible backpack — one no one else can see. Inside are heavy stones, each one representing memories and feelings that can make everyday life harder to hold.
Feathers From Stone is a moving rhyming story inspired by real experiences from life in the first responder community.
Before becoming mum, she served with strength and compassion — but the memories of what she witnessed followed her home, forming an invisible backpack filled with emotional weight.
Through poetic language that children can understand, this story gently explains PTSD, brain “helpers,” and the healing process — transforming what can feel frightening into something approachable and hopeful.
At its heart, this book is about bravery of a different kind:
the bravery to seek support, to heal, and to keep showing up for the people we love.
Created to support families, spark important conversations, and reduce stigma around trauma, Feathers From Stones reminds readers that healing is real — and that love can help lighten the load.
🌿 Brave Hearts Collection Ages 9+ / family read
The Calming Crystal
The Calming Crystal
Sometimes the world can feel loud, confusing, or a little bit overwhelming.
After a difficult moment at school, River discovers a quiet place inside a hidden cave where a glowing crystal helps him slow down, breathe, and listen to his thoughts.
As he watches the soft blue light moving through the crystal, River remembers something important about the deepest parts of the ocean — even in the darkest places, some creatures shine.
Through gentle reflection and courage, River begins to understand that feeling nervous or embarrassed doesn’t mean something is wrong with him. It simply means he is learning.
The Calming Crystal is a warm and reassuring story that helps children understand big emotions like anxiety, embarrassment, and self-doubt, while reminding them that their voice, their curiosity, and their ideas matter.
Because even in the deepest dark,
some lights still shine.
🌿 Brave Hearts Collection Ages 9+ / family read
Ember the Brave
A dragon’s PTSD healing journey
🌿 Early Hearts Collection - Created especially for ages 3–6 and meaningful for any family walking through healing.
Ember the Brave A dragon’s PTSD healing journey
After a terrible battle, Ember the dragon carries an invisible storm inside.
The storm makes him anxious, restless, and afraid — and he doesn’t understand why.
But when a compassionate friend helps Ember learn simple ways to calm his worries, he discovers something life-changing:
Storms may visit… but they do not stay forever.
A gentle, reassuring story that opens conversations about trauma, emotional wellbeing, and hope.
The Elder Realm Tree
Recommended for ages 7–11
The Elder Realm Tree marks a natural next step for growing readers ready to move beyond traditional picture books and into richer, more immersive storytelling.
When a quiet child stumbles upon a hidden tree older than memory itself, they discover that the Elder Realm is far more than ancient magic — it is a keeper of courage, truth, and the strength we often don’t realise we carry.
As the forest begins to whisper and long-forgotten paths unfold, one young heart learns that bravery does not always roar… sometimes, it listens.
Gently layered and emotionally resonant, The Elder Realm Tree offers greater narrative depth while remaining anchored in the warmth and psychological safety that define the Healing Storybook collection. Themes of reflection, resilience, and inner strength support developing readers as they step confidently into more expansive stories.
👉 A meaningful bridge between picture books and middle-grade fiction — for thoughtful readers and for parents seeking stories that grow alongside their child.
Your Healing Doesn’t End Here. Step into the Next Chapter.
Available from Healing Storybook Publishing
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Support Resources
If you or someone you love needs immediate support, please contact one of the services below:
Open Arms (Veterans & Families): 1800 011 046
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Triple Zero (Emergency): 000
Healing Storybook is a creative and educational resource and is not a crisis support service.