Essential addition to the classroom!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm sadly not a fan of this book. I didn't like the way it was written and wouldn't want to reread it or let my children read it.

This book has quite a few worrying stereotypes and things they could word differently. They have the stereotype of what an addict is (homeless alcoholic) when many children reading this book will have parents with addictions. The books refers to "God" ...which shouldn't be given the variety of religions and secular families. The word 'stupid' is also used a few times - which really children should not be hearing, there are better words to use. Having a dysfunctional family and/or bad parents isn't addressed...in fact there's a lot of emphasis on how parents do love you no matter what. There is also a section on bullying which doesn't address the fact that some bullies are just bullies and find hurting others fun, not every bully is jealous or angry. The little section on gender also does not reflect the fact that many young people identify as neither male or female, as they are growing up with the words for this (genderfluid, non-binary, agender) - it does look at the fact that things are not "girl things" and "boy things" but in a way that would not be amiss in a book 20 years ago. It doesn't reflect today's society and how they might feel if they don't care about their gender, which is a giant part in the mental wellness of children and young people. In the confidence section the authors suggest to help someone feel brave or confident you should call them an idiot, but that it's okay because everyone is an idiot and messes up so don't worry about messing up...which is not a message I would give to people. If someone told me that today as an adult I would not feel more confident in myself. There needs to be link between being told "don't worry, you're amazing" and "don't worry, you're an idiot we all are". I was very surprised the use of growth mindset was not explained in a child-friendly manner but instead, we get "aim low". This was not the first part of the book to say "aim low", in fact earlier the authors suggest that we keep our expectations of other people low, as to not be frustrated with them. Again, not a message I want children to learn.

Additionally, the tone of the book is off - it is mostly aimed towards 10-11 year olds, but sometimes seems as if it is for children as young as 6 or young teenagers with the descriptions and examples given. There could have been more use of infographics, artwork, and fill-in pages.

However, there are a handful of good moments in the book. There are examples of how to have conversations with people when they upset you, or when you think they weren't listening to you, there are some good self-reflection questions for evaluating why you might be feeling the way you are feeling. The little sections on resilience and imposter syndrome are nice, but could have been expanded on.

This was more of a rant review than I thought it would be, but is not a good book or guide to help children with their mental wellbeing.

I know this book isn't aimed at me specifically as a reader, but I am a school teacher so I am always on the look out for books that I can read and recommend for my students. This is not a book I will be recommending.
I found this book to be incredibly patronising, and very bizarre in some of its wordings and topics.
'what is a job?' 'mind problems' 'our parents are a big deal' why screens are so nice'
It was all very strange! I feel like it was written by someone who has never met a child/teenager in 2020 at all!!! It felt incredibly dated, and as I have mentioned previously incredibly patronising.
Also at times the book just went off on very strange tangents. Talking about animals, or artists - not relevant, and very random!

I like the idea that children would fill in the little 'thought boxes' that are spread throughout the book. I like the idea of it, however the execution again just doesn't sit well with me. 'what was the upsetting thing - what was the thorn' - again language that I just don't think is 'child-friendly'

I hate to write such negatively about a book, but I am so surprised that this book has been approved to go to print.