The Heart Behind The Storystead
Every story starts somewhere. The Storystead began as a quiet idea, a little patch of imagination. I was inspired after a class I took. I had to read 200 pictures book that season. It reminded me of using books when I was a therapist. Storystead is a place that honors the wonder of childhood reading and the quiet ways books help us heal, learn, and connect.
The Storystead is a space where stories are planted, tended, and shared with care.
What The Storystead Means
Stead suggests steadiness and home. The Storystead is a small, steady place for stories. It is whimsical and grounded all at once. Books here are not just listed; they are considered, celebrated, and explored for the meaning they hold. The pages are poured over, evaluated, and looked at from so many different angles.
What We Do Here
This is a growing catalog and reflection space for children’s and young adult books, with attention to emotional growth, resilience, and belonging. Each title is read and annotated with lenses of mental health, learning, and storycraft. When we treat books as living companions, they teach us as much as we teach from them.
Who’s Behind the Shelves
I am Jennifer Barry, a mental health–trained information science student, a former therapist, a researcher, and a mom who keeps picture books and notebooks close at hand. My children are unofficial co-curators. We test stories at bedtime, at the breakfast table, and in the quiet moments between lessons. I have been a mom more of my life than I was not a mom. I have always wanted to help people. The Storystead was created for my love of my children, love of being a mom, and the love of helping those around me.
Our Approach
This is not a ratings site. It is a story garden. Each entry holds both research notes and heart notes. Some titles lean into emotional literacy, others into art, language, or representation. The aim is not perfection. The aim is presence. The aim is expanding beyond what we see everyday.
What You’ll Find as We Grow
Expect annotated book entries with practical uses at home and in classrooms, reflections on the meeting place between mental health and storytelling, and a searchable library that makes discovery gentle. Some books will have reflections for use but some will just be a good book to read for a student looking for that topic. A book may be perfect for the classroom, but another book may be that quiet story a child needs to not feel alone. Behind-the-scenes notes will share how books are chosen, classified, and cared for.
The Storystead is a living project. Like a garden, it will change with the seasons and with every story that is added