Homelessness is a topic on everybody’s lips these days. In this Amnesty International endorsed novel, our narrator, Felix Knutsson, finds himself ‘temporarily’ living in a van with his unemployed mother, the rebellious Astrid. Having an uncanny talent for memorising wide-ranging facts, Felix enters a competition to appear on a junior version of his favourite quiz show. He dreams of winning it and turning his and his mum’s fortunes around.
The little girl at the heart of this story has a secret, or rather a secret friend: her fear. Fear has always kept her safe, but ever since she has moved countries and changed schools, Fear is becoming bigger and more demanding, taking all the space in the heroine’s head and heart. It is only when she befriends one of her schoolmates that things – and Fear – start going back to normal.
A little girl called Fern grows concerned after noticing that her beloved Nanna has stopped smiling. What could be the matter? Fern’s mum explains that the ‘whoosh’ of joy has gone out of Nanna’s life. Fern sets off to capture this elusive whoosh and cheer her Nanna back up.
Fern’s search for joy is beautifully captured through childlike language and cadence as she grasps at joy in a puppy’s bounce, a baby’s chuckle and the sun’s sparkle.
Reiko knows her big sister Mika is not dead, despite everyone telling her to the contrary. The two siblings regularly curl up on her bed and chat about guys, like the awkward, lanky Seth whom Reiko has begun – uncharacteristically – dating. And doesn’t her big sister look out the window after her, waving Reiko off as she goes for walks with Seth in the desert, near their luxurious Palm Springs home?
If someone has broken their arm and it is covered with a plaster cast, it’s fairly obvious to everyone what is wrong. If someone suffers from a mental illness, this may be less easily identifiable. We live in a world full of stress. For teenagers there are many pressures which affect their quality of life emotionally, socially and vocationally. This excellent little book offers practical tips and strategies for dealing with life challenges faced by teenagers such as depression, bullying, toxic friendships and a variety of self-esteem problems.
Following on from ABC Yoga, Christine Engle has created an introduction to mindfulness for 3-6 year-olds. This colourful board book provides a lively introduction to emotional regulation and self-care. The text comprises of a series of short rhymes, structured around the alphabet. In some places the structure and verse flow fluently, and in some places they are less successful.
The Mindfully Me Series is a collection of three books that advocate positive mental health and well-being for children. Each book focuses on encouraging positive self-image and self-esteem for children aged four and upwards.
Have you ever heard the saying ‘Smile and the world smiles with you’? Well, read on to discover the science behind this philosophy and the steps we can all take to make the world a brighter, happier place. Written in conjunction with nonprofit charity Action for Happiness, this fascinating book presents ten key principles of happiness, complete with experiments and activities that allow children to get actively involved in becoming kind, confident and optimistic people.
Grieving the loss of her online boyfriend Jonah, Tess drops out of high school and moves in with her dad, who runs a funeral business. It turns out Tess is quite good at being his assistant and together they struggle to make sense of what life has thrown at them. Was Jonah who he claimed to be? Was Tess really in love with him, or just the idea of him?
Non Pratt’s third novel uses a dual narrative format whereby you turn the book upside down at the half-way point and each protagonist’s story begins at the beginning. The narrators are Claire and Sef. Claire is struggling with self-esteem after a film of her bikini top falling off is seen by everybody in school and beyond, and Sef is trying to cope with mental health issues after his brother Kam sustained a traumatic brain injury in an accident for which he feels responsible.
