Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: Growing

  • Growing Feelings

    Growing Feelings

    A Kids’ Guide to Dealing with Emotions about Friends and Other Kids

    Growing up can be tough, and in today’s world it is perhaps tougher than ever before, with the massive influence electronic media has on children and their parents.

    Child psychologist Dr Eileen Kennedy-Moore and health writer Christine McLaughlin, have combined their many years of working with feelings and emotions to create the perfect book for parents and children, to help them understand and deal with their feelings of anxiety, sadness and anger with their friends.

    Breaking the book into sections, contained within each area of emotion are several subheadings, each one presented in the form of a lovely little story with solutions to encourage thinking, accepting and understanding why children feel the way they do with their friends.

    Some of the wording is complex, which is where parents need to sit and talk with their children and not just help them to understand, but let them work out the solutions to the issues. Along the way there is a very cheeky cat and dog, who while the best of friends, do see the world through different lenses which adds a whole lot of fun, and helps introduce differing points of view in an informal manner.

    Growing Feelings also helps children accept that perhaps their friends have tough times as well and are also feeling upset, sad or just plain in need of time to themselves.

    Any parent who finds themselves struggling to help their children ‘fit in’, learn to cope with their developing feelings or simply wants to understand a great deal more about feelings in general, should consider this a must read book.

    In all truth, the information is not just for young children and adolescent youth, but for everyone as there is some very informative subject matter contained within the various topics which many an adult need to read and understand.

    Perfect for a wide range of children and adults from the age of 10 years, Growing Feelings should be in school libraries everywhere.

  • Lola Dutch When I Grow Up

    Lola Dutch When I Grow Up

     This hard-back picture book is filled with colour and fun and all the optimism that a young person can dream off. Surrounded by her own toys and dressed in her choice of clothes Lola has the freedom to ponder the greater problems in life. One of the issues of great urgency is, What will I be when I grow up? This is a thought which presents itself to many young children and they deal with it in various ways.

    For Lola, a trip to the den, with all its books is the first step. Her research leads her to suppose that a life on the stage is her path to follow. With help she creates a theatre setting, costumes, music and a play. When all that is completed the young performer decides that life in the theatre would be best for someone else. With great enthusiasm, and curiosity, Lola explores many career paths, with their expectations and experiments.

    The more Lola looks at the many career options that may be open to her, the more confused she becomes. When it all seems too much, Bear offers his advice, which is as always wise and kind and thoughtful. With the pressure off, Lola can concentrate on being in the moment and move slowly towards the future.

    The authors have many advantages in writing this book. They are married and share similar ideas as well as four children. They understand how children often think and give simple and reassuring answers. The delightful meshing of pictures and text shows how Lola is a joint creation much loved by children.

    Inside the front cover are cut outs of Lola and pig together with a ready-made stage setting. Children can dress the characters and produce their own play. This would make a superb gift for the child who is hands on with stories.