Island Parent Fall 2023

local innovative theatre
from multiplying, and failing that, create effective strategies to
release those anger monsters in a healthy manner. The pictures
in this book are adorable, and the cuteness helps children remember
that anger monsters and their buddies aren’t bad they
just need special attention. For ages 5 to 9.
While I would love for this to never be the case, one thing
that might be stressing our children out is bullies. Bullies can
decimate our kids’ self-esteem, and it can be really tough to
rebuild that. If you think your child is struggling with a bully,
or with low self-esteem in general, check out A Kids Book
About Self-Love by Brandon Farbstein (A Kids Co., 2021).
Farbstein understands what it feels like to be bullied because
of your appearance, and what it feels like to dislike yourself,
which is why he wrote this book about self-love: what it
looks like, what it feels like, and how to start loving yourself.
There are no pictures in this book, but don’t let that deter you
because Farbstein’s writing style is comforting and conversational
so it won’t be hard for children to remain engaged. For
ages 5 to 9.
The last book is What You Need to Be Warm: A Poem of
Welcome by Neil Gaiman and many others (Quill Tree Books,
2023). As Gaiman explains in the foreword, this is a collaborative
poem; he wrote it using memories that people shared
with him about what it meant to be warm. While the aim of
this poem is to draw attention to refugees without adequate
shelter, you can also read it with your children and talk about
what it means for your kids to be warm or to feel loved. In
addition to the poets, 13 artists contributed to this story. Each
with their own unique style, but all of them held onto the
same colour scheme creating an orange glow that seems to
emanate warmth from the very pages you’re holding. For ages
8 to 12.
I know school and the coming winter can be hard—especially
when the nights get darker faster and the weather
turns cool—but hopefully these books will help you and your
children embrace your fears, find pockets of joy, hug your
monsters, love yourself, and discover your own items to add
to Gaiman’s list of what it takes to be warm.
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