Sue Lawson and Sue Hindle (text) and Prue Pittock (illustrator), You Matter: Be Your Own Best Friend, Wild Dog Books, March 2022, 64 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781742036144
You Matter: Be Your Own Best Friend is a self-help guide to self-care for kids.
Using language that should be understandable to many children aged seven and over, You Matter presents various strategies for coping with complex emotions and building resilience and self-esteem. These strategies are compared to a toolkit that “will help keep your emotions flowing” (p. 5).
The first section explains how breathing can settle and help kids tune into their feelings and several different breathing techniques are explained. Kids are also encouraged to be active using sports or music, to have good sleep routines, to eat healthy and drink enough water, get close to nature and sing. There are also some exercises that are focussed on the mind and relationships, such as creating affirmations, meditation and learning to apologise.
Many of the techniques seem similar to what my kids do for mindfulness at school, so this might not be brand new information to parents, and it is not the most polished book ever published. However, to a young child struggling with anxiety, emotional regulation, stress or shyness, the techniques could be life changing. And presented this way, with hopeful illustrations and in an easy-to-carry size, they are certainly accessible to the target audience. There are teachers notes available at the publisher’s website
Reviewed by Cherie Bell
