This is one interesting book, "disguised" as the amygdala. The difficult word made me curious, and ask for a copy from Netgalley. It turned out to be a book that explains what amygdala is, and how it helps you to react accordingly (most of the time) from dangers or scarry things. But then, you also can help it by having a control of yourself. You can train yourself to overcome your fear, and talk about it. Or talk about it to get some sort of help. This book helps children to reach for help and how they can get the aid.

A great description of how the amygdala works to protect us, at a level that most elementary students can understand. There is a great variety of regulating techniques mentioned. I appreciate that amygdala isn't the enemy, just scared.

I was skeptical about the idea of teaching young children about the amygdala and the autonomic nervous system. Now that I’ve read it, I want to give a copy to everyone who interacts with young children. The information and exercises in this book would have been life changing for me when I was a child. The author is a children’s mental health clinician and early childhood education consultant, as well as a mom. She does a wonderful job explaining this material in a way that children can understand. The lessons are reinforced by Cynthia Cliff’s playful illustrations. Maybe someday amygdala training will be as popular as Pokémon training.

The back matter includes a guide for adults.

Thanks to Free Spirit Publishing for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

This was a nice easy book to help kids learn about the function of the amygdala and how we can train it not to overreact with fear or anger. This was good but I had hoped for a little more substance. I think it was meant for a younger audience than I had hoped, but that is my mistake.

What’s an Amygdala and what does it do?

Well this picture book tells us all about it, and it does it in a fun and age-appropriate way. In a way that helps children understand themselves better and feel more in control of their emotions.

While a few pages may feel a bit dry (too many facts, too little story), most of it is easy to follow thanks to the real-life—and quite funny—examples it walks us through.

Then come the exercises. Aimed at helping our amygdalas find their inner peace, these exercises are the best—the juiciest—thing this book has to offer. These simple techniques were created to help children find their chill without dismissing their feelings. Even as an adult, and I’m talking from experience as I tried them all, the exercises in this book are helpful at moments when everyday events sent our amygdala, and moods, into a spin. And that’s the most interesting thing I learned from this book, that our emotions are not ethereal fairies going and coming in unpredictable ways, but the result of physical and chemical changes within our bodies in response to external stimuli.

At a time when children are often overstimulated and having an extra hard time getting in touch with what they feel, this book may help parents find a way to talk about feelings that we often considered negative, like anger and fear, in a productive manner. So, beyond the important information within this book, there’s also an interesting path leading to a better understanding of ourselves.

This is a book for children but that, at least at first, would be better if read with an adult that may help contextualize the information within, as well as guide the children through the exercises until they become familiar with them.

The illustrations are cute, funny and helpful. The representation of the amygdala as a hairy beast is unexpected. It conflicted me at first but I supposed it’s an effective one when the audience is young and a visual representation that is memorable is needed. I found the reference within the title entertaining and pertinent since our amygdalas may be as temperamental as dragons.

We are lucky to live in a time where we teach our children about how our brain works and the feelings associated with dysregulation. I wish I had had How to Train Your Amygdala when I was growing up to help me understand what was happening in my body when I felt different ways. But, more importantly, I wish I had been taught the techniques in this storybook to manage my feelings and regulate myself.

What I liked:
• child friendly explanations about the brain and how it works
• illustrations are pleasing and eye catching for K-3 students but the information would be great K-5
• making the amygdala a character is very effective at engaging kids
• gives actually exercises right in the story to try along with the characters
• child friendly amygdala training manual in the back as well as a guide for adults

I will use this text with students in my role as an educator and it would make a great addition to our school library as well! It was available for purchase Feb. 20, 2024.

Thank you, Net Galley, Teacher Created Materials, Free Spirit Publishing and Anna Housley Juster, for allowing me to preview this picture book.
#NetGalley #HowtoTrainYourAmygdala #FreeSpiritPublishing #TeacherCreatedMaterials #AnnaHousleyJuster

Kids of all ages love to learn about how their brains work. I’ve seen this at all ages I have taught. While it might seem “too young” for my upper elementary students, it contains great information that they would enjoy. It breaks things down so applicable from k-5th grade. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I loved this book for kiddos--taking and breaking down large concepts like how fight/flight/freeze/fawn work is not easy, and Anna Housley Juster has not only done that but made it fun! As a therapist, I would highly recommend this to any parent of small children to better understand how the brain functions.

5 ⭐️
What an adorable way to teach children how to calm their anxieties and fears.

🧸 Right away, I was charmed by the illustrations and characters in this cute story. I love the mixed use of font sizes to help keep attention drawn to the text.

👩🏻‍🏫 This book is packed with information about the amygdala (what it is, how to pronounce it, etc), how to identify your anxieties and fight or flight response, and ideas for how to train your amygdala’s response under stress.

🧘🏼‍♀️ It offers variety of ideas focused around mindfulness breathing, thoughts and even tactile approaches. There is a great parental guide in the back, that offers additional information on recognizing anxiety (it doesn’t look the same for everyone) and how best to work with your child’s individual needs.

🫶🏼 This is such a smart book! I would love to see this in elementary schools and in the hands of every parent with a young that is struggling with anxiety.

Thanks to NetGalley, Teacher Created Materials, and Anna Housley Juster Ph.D. LICSW for providing me with a complimentary ARC to review!

I was never taught specifics of how the brain works until college. I've since had a lot of training to understand how kids' minds work and ways to help them deal with emotions. But, I've never seen it explained in such a kid-friendly way. Even though this is some high level science, even a young kid can understand. I think it's very empowering for kids to understand reactions in their brain are causing their emotions, but there are things they can do to help control it.

What a cool book! The personification of your amygdala is brilliant and illustrations are whimsical and engaging. I read it to my son and he continued to ask about his amygdala the next few days. The tools to train are things we've talked about before but being able to tie it back to this book and an illustrated idea of his amygdala was a game changer for implementing them in his life. Definitely something that I'll come back to and recommend.

Juster does a fabulous job tackling a complex topic and making it easy to understand - for all ages. Amygdala is presented as our furry friend and helps us in understanding why our fight, flight, and freeze responses happen without us thinking. Sometimes this protects us, sometimes our Amygdala gets it wrong. Fab addition for all ages.

This is an impressive explanation of what the amygdala's role is and what steps to take to learn to manage anxiety. This would be perfect for a classroom or for parents with children who may struggle with feeling anxious or lashing out in anger or fear.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

"How to Train Your Amygdala" is an enchanting children's book that seamlessly weaves together a heartwarming story with valuable educational teaching strategies for developing self-regulation skills in young readers. Written by Anna Housley Juster, this captivating tale takes children on a magical journey into the whimsical world of the garden, where they learn essential life skills that extend far beyond the pages of the book.

One of the standout features of this book is its ability to engage children's imagination while subtly introducing practical strategies for self-regulation. Through colorful and vibrant illustrations, the author brings the characters to life, making it easy for children to connect with the story. The narrative follows the adventures of a group of animal friends who discover the magic within themselves to navigate challenging situations and emotions.

The educational teaching strategies embedded in the storyline are both accessible and age-appropriate. From mindfulness exercises to breathing techniques, the book introduces these concepts in a playful and interactive manner. Parents and educators will appreciate the seamless integration of these strategies into the narrative, making it a valuable tool for teaching self-regulation in a fun and engaging way.

What sets this book apart is its emphasis on emotional intelligence and empathy. As the characters learn to understand and regulate their emotions, young readers are subtly encouraged to reflect on their feelings and empathize with others. The book encourages open communication and provides a foundation for building positive relationships, crucial skills for a child's social development.

"How to Train Your Amygdala" is not just a book; it's a delightful learning experience that empowers children with the tools they need to navigate life's challenges. The combination of a compelling story, enchanting illustrations, and practical teaching strategies makes it a must-have for parents, teachers, and caregivers who are dedicated to fostering the emotional well-being and self-regulation skills of the young minds they influence.

This book is a perfect book for educators and parents who need a fun way of intstructing children on why self-regulation is difficult, and strategies to use as coping mechanisms.

Truthfully I read this book for myself although I am sharing it with my 6 and 4 year old grandchildren. I find that often times the basic explanation meant for children is perfect for adults too. All the exercises suggested-hugging, breathing etc are explained well and very easy to do! The concept of training your amygdala to stay calm is wonderful and again has simple, easy to follow instructions. I found the guide for adults at the end helpful too. I definitely recommend this book.

Although the digital copy was a bit jumbled, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to sharing it with students. The book combines facts of how the brain works in a fun way for young people. I like that the author uses the technical term amygdala while explaining how it works and why the amygdala can actually be helpful. The author offers many suggestions of how to calm the amygdala down when it is over-responding to a situation.

I think students will enjoy the book and pictures and have already preordered a copy!

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was very cute. When I started reading this it seemed very advanced for the younger generation due to the difficult words, but it was actually explained very thoroughly and I could follow it very well by the end of it. That was my main concern with this book especially judging from the title, I was interested to see what I was about to read about. It was very cute, the art style was very intriguing and the tory itself would be very beneficial, may I even say for kids on the spectrum too, to know how to handle their feelings and emotions. Overall a very interesting yet cozy read for the young ones.

This is an excellent book for young children dealing with anxiety or phobias. Amygdala is a cute red monster. He works with a boy with glasses and a girl with a cat for much of the book, teaching them strategies they can use to train their amygdalas not to overreact.

I often find a disparity between the drawings and the intended audience. The drawings may be a bit juvenile for the children who would most benefit from this book, but it's good that amygdala is relatable and non-threatening.

There are strategies in the back for adults to help the children in their lives.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A great book for children that introduces them to the amygdala and through that anxiety. I thought this was really well written in that it was approachable for children but still gave a lot of good info. I also love the idea of teaching children about anxiety earlier so that they are better equipped to handle it!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an excellent book. I appreciated the pronunciation and definition at the beginning as well as real world examples of what your amygdala does in your body. This book provided good strategies to "train your amygdala" when there is danger or when one is being too sensitive. This book was a very helpful resource that can be used in classrooms to teach Social Emotional Learning. I could see myself using it as a resource in my own home as well. I appreciated the kid strategies at the end of the book as well as the guide for adults.

There is a lot of text to read. It may be difficult for young children to read this all in one sitting. However, when used as a resource to refer to I would highly recommend it.