Lovely workbook discussing sadness, bullying & self respect. Would definitely recommend to be used in ELSA & Nurture Groups.

I thought this was just going to be a story with tips but this is actually a beautifully written guide on how it's okay to have feelings and the things you can do to feel better. In this story, a little boy is sad and his friends make fun of him, and one of the important lessons he learns is that he deserves better treatment from others. He accepts help from someone trained to help with emotional issues and he even learns how important it is to help others. The book ends with a long list of positive affirmations.
As someone who has worked with many different groups of children, I think this is an excellent resource. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I found it very hard to rate children's books so everything is a 5 star read for me!!
I really loved this book, the illustrations are so beautiful and captivating that I found myself smiling through every page I read.
The story itself is very beautiful and inspiring <3

Managing Sadness would be a good book for a therapy group or for students to work through when they are struggling since it has the questions and spaces to write. I liked that it gave the words that I hear a lot in my students to describe their bad days, and it also gave ways to work through those thoughts.

How do you teach your kid how to manage sadness?

Talk to them. But what if they don’t tell you anything.

Maybe sneak this book into their life and make your and their life easier. This is a great book and something I would recommend every parent should get for their child, so they can learn how to manage sadness, overcome situations and find happiness within.

Rating - 4/5

This is a powerful book and should be added to home libraries. As a matter of fact, I would buy a book for each child in my home. Sadness is something we all experience. How we cope with being sad is what matters. There were many helpful activities and suggestions for anyone of any age. Kyle is a typical middle grader and experiences bullying and then his negative thoughts compound. This story was well written and realistic. Another important aspect of this book is how to deal with the sad parts of life and that it is okay to ask for help. The drawings were perfect. I was blessed with a free ARC, and I’m voluntarily leaving my review. Looking forward to more books by this author. Highly recommend.

I really loved the tips for parents and educators page along with the resource page for the hotlines that can provide help to kids. I believe this book would be may be too advanced for fourth graders but great for preteens and beneficial so they can explain what they are feeling with the coping skills, feelings list and feeling plans pages.

A comprehensive and compassionate book about dealing with sadness and stress for young children. It contains a story, tips, advice, and activities to empower children, build their resilience and overcome negative self-talk. The writing style is engaging and the content is informative, relevant, educational and practical. My 9 yo child and I enjoyed it and will be using the tips more in our lives.

This is a really wonderful book and resource for parents and kids. I would say this is aimed at an upper elementary, jr high level. I think it’s really powerful in the way it normalizes, and validates feelings and prompt parent and child on how to talk and cope with those emotions. Tons of actionable suggestions, prompts and preparing. The list of things to feel better, emotions, and affirmations is invaluable!

This is an extremely simple yet educative book. I loved the fact that the writer discussed a topic that most of the teenagers are struggling with today - Depression. I love the small journal prompts in the book that would encourage the young minds to cope up with their mental health. All the lists of the positive affirmations and the list of activities to do to deal with depression are an icing on the cake.
Thank you netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for my honest review.

First off, the tips for parents and educators page is just phenomenal, followed by a resource to get help for kids. This is what is needed!

Sometimes as parents and guides to children, we don't know how to help them. We know what we experienced as kids and we know what we don't want, but we are scared to act. I thought that right out of the gate, that this was fantastic advice.

Not only does this book follow the narrative of a boy in fourth grade, it also has reader involvement and is also a workbook!

The wording is straightforward, and digestible for a grade school aged child. The scenarios inside are relatable and realistic.

This book demonstrates how one issues can lead to more and it is quite true. The original issue gets buried.

I cannot stress enough how amazing the workbook section of this is. Its really relevant because they also have a "circle the emoji" section so kids can see and express even if they don't have the words. They even have a whole list of what the feelings are called associated with the emoji.

This book would assist anyone in determining their reason for their sadness and how to work through those feelings.

As someone who has a history in education and with a kid who deals with sadness and anxiety, this book intrigued me. I think I missed what the age focus is for this book because some of the verbiage was a little advanced for elementary school age-- especially primary ages. But I did very much enjoy the interactive aspects where kids wouldn't just be read to or read it the words, but encourages the child to look within in various methods. My favorite part was reading how to help them change their wording and mindset when talking about themselves.

What an amazing book to talk about positive self-talk, kindness, emotions, and coping strategies when feeling sad. The story itself is an accurate representation of what some children face in school, and the activities that go along with the book are well thought out and allow readers to reflect on their own emotions. As a teacher, this book can be used in health classes from grades K-8 to promote positive language use, as well as how to cope with negative emotions, how to be kind to one another, and how to help someone who may seem sad.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

Love the tips page for educators and parents in addition to social workers, foster families, child psychologist and many more. It allows kids a way to express themselves by writing down their feeling and thoughts.

This is an amazing resource that also talks about negative self talk and advocating for yourself.. It also teaches coping skills and has 99 listed coping skills that kids can use.

#ManagingSadness #NetGalley
I loved this book! I know for sure that this will be incredibly useful to so many kids. I thought that this book was written and framed perfectly, and it was very age-appropriate. Personally, I think that all kids should read this in order to develop empathy skills for others AND themselves. The lessons this book teaches are wildly important.
It was amazing how the author flawlessly combined self-reflection and coping activities and a relevant story to really make sure that it is easy to read and understand for the intended age group. The worksheets that were incorporated into the book were actually impactful. The questions weren't too difficult, but weren't too easy either. It really gets kids to ponder the questions on a different level. It's perfect that these worksheets are in the book because then kids can reference their answers and/or the story with greater ease. I also liked the notes for educators and parents at the beginning, and I believe that teachers and parents should definitely consider reading this book with kids.

The basic tale is of a fourth grader who is experiencing worsening sadness due to bullying, feelings of inadequacy/being singled out by others. There are downloadable worksheets and handouts as parents learn to intervene before the sadness overwhelms. Parents help with coping strategies, teach/reinforce/reward and thing that are empowering, documenting hope and to get counseling if needed. This is a workbook for both parents and the beleaguered student.
The illustrations by Lisa M. Griffin are clear, imaginative, colorful, and meaningful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school or your local public library.
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Boys Town Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
Available 28 May 2024

Let me get straight into it, I love a lot of the messages and question prompts in this book. The artwork is nice but doesn't detract from the focus on the self-help writing elements. A criticism I do have is they give the fantasy world idea of that all parents and counselors are good hearted, well guided people. I wish the author added a section about how sometimes if you go to an adult and they are not able to help or give you proper guidance or support, that is okay you are still valid and you can find another better adult to help you. I could expound on that, but I don't want to inspire your next book. Anyway, the no send letter and 101 positive things to say to myself sections were particularly good. A method for the children to vent their feelings without having to actually send them to whoever or whatever they letter is for is great. The 101 positive things are just very wholesome and useful to read through for any person because it encourages retraining your mind to not have that negative self talk be so forefront. I gave a 4/5 star rating as I felt it was fair. It wasn't perfect and could have added more things to a child who's trying to manage sadness' arsenal.

I would put this on the middle grade book and last children’s, because I think it talks about a lot of mental health problems and why you can be sort of managing how to be sad, but in a very light and easy to understand way.

I dont know how I feel about the content or even if I agree with it but overall the writing was okay & I liked the pictures.

As the mom of a pre-teen, this book is invaluable and the fact that this was more like a workbook for the child, where they could work through it like a diary, was perfection.

Because even as an adult, I have also felt the way Kyle has. And the questions that are asked on each page, could make for great bonding and understanding between adult/parent/guardian and the child. The book goes through the motions of how Kyle ended up going from "normal sadness" to depression and the events that took place. Including, what he stopped doing to groom or pass school.

I appreciate the rawness and honesty in this book, that helps younger people find the necessary words to express their emotions. But that it also shows them that even though they are young, their emotional and mental health and wellbeing matter.

This is a book I would recommend to ANYONE that has children or works with/interacts with them on a regular/routine basis.


I volunteered to read a copy of this ARC through NetGalley