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Topic: Mental Health

Chapter book

Maya and Rose won’t talk to each other.

Even though they are sisters.

Not since the accident.

Maya is running wild, and Rose doesn’t know what to do.

Now Maya and Rose have to go away together on a week-long school journey. But will the trip – and a life-threatening adventure – fix their relationship… or break it for good?

An uplifting story of family, forgiveness, and finding out who you are, from the author of the highly-acclaimed Ella on the Outside.

Chapter book

Middle school is the one problem Lucy can’t solve in this middle-grade novel perfect for fans of The Fourteenth Goldfish, Rain Reign, and Counting by 7s. Lucy Callahan was struck by lightning. She doesn’t remember it, but it changed her life forever. The zap gave her genius-level math skills, and ever since, Lucy has been homeschooled. Now, at 12 years old, she’s technically ready for college. She just has to pass 1 more test–middle school! Lucy’s grandma insists: Go to middle school for 1 year. Make 1 friend. Join 1 activity. And read 1 book (that’s not a math textbook!). Lucy’s not sure what a girl who does calculus homework for fun can possibly learn in 7th grade. She has everything she needs at home, where nobody can make fun of her rigid routines or her superpowered brain. The equation of Lucy’s life has already been solved. Unless there’s been a miscalculation? A celebration of friendship, Stacy McAnulty’s smart and thoughtful middle-grade debut reminds us all to get out of our comfort zones and embrace what makes us different.

A story for children inspired by children. Written by an integrative child and adolescent therapist (MBACP) & primary school teacher, Freya’s funny feeling is a beautifully illustrated picture book provides young children aged 4-7 years a tool to understand the various emotions they often cannot comprehend. Feelings of anxiety, excitement or mixed emotions and its idiom – the butterflies in your tummy. Using the analogy of the butterfly cycle, the story cleverly draws an association between Freya’s anxious feelings and the commonly used idiom ‘the butterflies in your tummy ‘ enabling young readers to visualise the two concepts simultaneously. Occasional use of alliteration and simple rhyming patterns makes Freya’s Funny Feeling a pleasurable story to read. Visually there are many different communities represented across the book so children of many walks of life and cultural backgrounds can identify with the characters.

Picturebook

In a soft comfy nest in a safe warm place there snoozed a great big orange thing called the Yes. He was snug, but the Yes had a Where to go to. So he left his nest and went trundling out. But the Where was an endless place of Nos. They teemed and seethed. They picked and nipped, and snipped and snicked. The Yes yessed in all his goodness and bigness and yesness. But was he strong enough to overcome them?

Non-fiction

Confidence is like a muscle, and everyone’s confidence can benefit from a bit of coaching to stretch and strengthen that muscle. Following tried and tested techniques, children will learn how to build empathy and interact with confidence. From dealing with friendship wobbles to embracing mistakes and coping with change, the activities at the heart of this book are designed to help children discover just what they can do.

Picturebook

Max is a child who worries. A lot.

He worries about being bitten by spiders, abducted by aliens, or sometimes just that people don’t like him enough. Soon it feels like his worries might take over the world!

Thank goodness for Bob the dog, who shows Max that the best way to deal with worries is to share them with a friend. Told with sensitivity and a sense of fun, this relatable story encourages empathy and illustrates the importance of talking about worries.

Stress and anxiety amongst children is a growing problem and this warm-hearted picture book provides a much-needed aid to help parents calm their children’s worries. Much like Benji Davies’ Grandad’s Island, this story tackles a sensitive issue with a lightness of touch, allowing parents to approach a difficult topic through the comfort of a fun story.

Gabriel Alborozo’s illustrations brilliantly capture family life and his appealing artwork injects some gentle humour into situations that will be familiar to many families.

Picturebook

Award-winning picture book star Oliver Jeffers explores themes of love and loss in this life-affirming and uplifting tale.

Once there was a girl whose life was filled with wonder at the world around her…
Then one day something happened that made the girl take her heart and put it in a safe place. However, after that it seemed that the world was emptier than before. But would she know how to get her heart back?

In this deeply moving story, Oliver Jeffers deals with the weighty themes of love and loss with an extraordinary lightness of touch and shows us, ultimately, that there is always hope.

Chapter book

First the accident, then the nightmares. The shadowy thief steals all the colours from Izzy’s world leaving her feeling empty and hopeless. Will her new neighbour and a nest full of cygnets save Izzy and solve the mystery of the colour thief? A heartwarming story about families, friendships, school, nature, hope and self-confidence.

After a frightening car accident, Izzy’s mum is in a coma. Her family is in pieces. Her best friend at school has dumped her. And her nightmares are haunted by a shadowy man stealing all the colours from her world. She’s trying so hard to be brave, but Izzy thinks everything is her fault. Then she meets her new neighbour, Toby, paralyzed after a skateboarding accident, and together they find a nest of cygnets who need rescuing. Particularly the odd one out, called Spike. Will saving Spike save Izzy? Will she and Toby solve the mystery of the colour thief and bring hope and happiness back to Izzy’s life? Written with insight, compassion and empathy – an authentic story about real life and how to survive it.

Chapter book

A story about finding friendship when you’re lonely – and hope when all you feel is fear. Twelve-year-old Matthew is trapped in his bedroom by crippling OCD, spending most of his time staring out of his window as the inhabitants of Chestnut Close go about their business.

Until the day he is the last person to see his next door neighbour’s toddler, Teddy, before he goes missing.

Matthew must turn detective and unravel the mystery of Teddy’s disappearance – with the help of a brilliant cast of supporting characters.

Page-turning, heartbreaking, but ultimately life-affirming, this story is perfect for fans of Can You See Me, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and Wonder.

Picturebook

Amir’s worried about the monster under the bed! What if it has huge teeth and growls like a lion? What if it tries to eat him up? And what if the monster has a mum and dad too? But Dad reassures Amir that if the monster family comes to play, then Amir might just make a friend instead.

A timeless tale of monsters under the bed, Grobblechops is based on a story by the thirteenth-century poet, philosopher and Sufi mystic Rumi.

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