Take a Deep Breath!
How do you help a child with anxiety? This book tries to do so with a story about Kit who has moved to a new neighborhood. Because everything is strange and different, Kit is anxious. She is latching onto things that are familiar; the most important thing being her notebook.
Panic rises to a new level in Kit when the notebook goes missing. A kind neighbor distracts Kit by getting her to help with the soup she is making. She teaches Kit to smell the soup deeply through her nose. Then she tells her to blow it gently with her mouth.
The neighbor was teaching a tried-and-true exercise that is often used to achieve a calm state: breathe deeply through the nose, then blow the air out with the mouth.
I recommend that those utilizing this book, first, turn to the back, and read the page the authors wrote about anxiety, along with their experience with it. By doing that, the story will make more sense, and will help when using this book.
As a bonus, the story contains a copy of the soup recipe. This over-sized picture book can be applied to a larger age range than the four through eight-year-old group because of the subject matter. Since this is from a Christian publisher, I was disappointed that the Lord was not mentioned in this four-star book.
Thank you, Zonderkidz, for providing Tickmenot with a complimentary copy of, “Kit and the Missing Notebook,” by Chris and Lindsey Wheeler, for the purpose of review. I have not been compensated in any other manner. All opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required, or influenced, to give anything but an honest appraisal.
