Using Bibliotherapy to Overcome Math Anxiety 

Math anxiety is a widespread phenomenon. More recently, children's and adolescent 
literature has been recognized as a means to teaching math to students through 
the use of stories to make the math concepts relevant and meaningful. Literature 
can also be used as a form of therapy to reach students who may be frustrated with 
math and/or who experience math anxiety.  Story and picture books, such as A Gebra 
Named Al (Isdell, 1993), are now available to use in the classroom as forms of 
bibliotherapy  in helping students overcome or come to terms with anxiety toward 
math.  In this article the author proposes using reading and discussion to aid in 
reducing math anxiety in students via the story of Sarah and her struggle with math 
anxiety.