Zuri's Quest: Managing Anxiety

Zuri's Quest: Managing Anxiety by Lateefat Odunuga is a much needed story about anxiety, bullying and how to handle the effects of these actions. Due to social media, bullying is much easier to accomplish, and so many children have no idea what to do or who to turn to. This book identifies these triggers and provides solutions and actions to take to help alleviate the feelings caused by bullying. The illustrations are bright and colorful as well as diverse. This is a great resource for young and middle age children. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

A much-needed social-emotional book that promotes positive interaction among children, parents, and teachers. The book follows the story of Zuri, a young girl who becomes overwhelmed with anxiety due to bullying from her classmates. Zuri's anxiety begins to affect her schoolwork and overall performance. With beautiful illustrations and word search activities on every page, this book helps children navigate their emotions and feelings, identify their triggers, and develop effective coping strategies. The story is suitable for children of all ages, but is especially important to children between the ages of 9-12 years, "Zuri's Quest" is a powerful tool for promoting better mental health.

A must-read children's book that empowers young readers to manage their emotions. The book follows the story of Zuri, a relatable character who struggles with anxiety due to bullying from her classmates. The book is beautifully illustrated and includes word search activities that make it engaging and interactive. Through storytelling, the book helps children understand and manage their anxiety, promoting emotional intelligence and resilience. "Zuri's Quest" is a powerful tool for promoting better mental health in children and empowering them to navigate their emotions and feelings.

A much-needed story about learning to handle anxiety in the face of adversity.
'Zuri's Quest: Managing Anxiety' by Lateefat Odunuga follows Zuri who is being bullied because she got the lead role in a play and her classmates are jealous. At first she tries to bottle it up but her worry and anxiety are causing restless nights and constant stress. Her mother keeps asking what is wrong and she eventually tells her. Her mother teaches her that she dealt with anxiety as a young girl and that many people as well as famous actresses have learned to overcome anxiety and ways to help lessen it.
Readers will learn breathing exercises and meditation techniques to help regulate their emotions.
This is a fantastic story filled with brightly colored illustrations.
At the end there is a word search and a section for kids to share their own thoughts.
Highly recommend this story told by an accomplished author who is a renowned advocate for mental health and suicide prevention.

**Thank you to NetGalley and BookBuzz.net for this eCopy in exchange for an honest review**

Zuri is being bullied at school because she got the lead in the play that another girl, Kyra, wanted. As a result, she now lacks confidence, is always anxious, and losing sleep. Eventually, she decides to tell her mom what's going on and luckily she has some valuable advice for coping.

Zuri's mom shows her some breathing exercises, mediation, and thinking about a happy place where she is calm. She also adds that a healthy diet, exercise, and getting enough sleep can also really help with anxiety.

In addition, she says that the girls bullying her are most likely jealous of her. She reminds her of many famous people who have also struggled with anxiety and they are still thriving and successful.

I've also heard that bullies are bullies because their own lives are lacking, so they have to get attention elsewhere and make others hurt like they're hurting, because as the saying goes, "Misery loves company."

As much as I liked the book, what impressed me most was the author, Lateefat Odunuga, and her professional credentials. She is a certified suicidologist, talks about suicide prevention and advocates for mental health. She does all of these great things for youths. I would definitely be interested in interviewing her one day to talk about it. I am a psychology major myself and suicide and suicide prevention is actually an area of interest of mine.