It's OK

February 1, 2023
Instructions on cultivating mindfulness and meeting challenges. "Sometimes things don't go the way I want. I feel sad, and it is hard." A brown-skinned soccer player who has obviously had a tough game soon remembers that everyone feels this way sometimes. The child puts their hand on their heart and says, "It's OK--I love you. I'm with you today." On another page, a Black-presenting child playing with a dog knocks over a plant and feels upset but is reminded that "everyone feels bad sometimes" and performs the same ritual. A light-skinned child throws a tantrum over the idea of cleaning their room, an Asian-presenting child feels left out when a new sibling is born, the child who knocked over the plant reappears and feels scared of the ocean...but they, and other diverse children, help themselves feel better by repeating the refrain mindfully. O'Leary's text is fine as bibliotherapeutic mindfulness instruction, but it is Eide's illustrations that save this offering from being too didactic by presenting concrete, recognizable situations. Children will readily identify with the scenarios depicted and will feel reassured by this lesson in self-love. Exercises to help kids develop self-kindness and an afterword by Christopher Germer, a lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, round out the package. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Will set youngsters on the path to fostering self-acceptance and -forgiveness. (Picture book. 4-9)

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