This week is Children’s Mental Health Awareness week – and momstown has come across a great children’s book that helps kids identify talk about their feelings while enjoying a fun story at the same time.
Martha the Mouse is an adorable little character created by Karen Lang. Martha the (confident) Mouse helps children learn about how to deal with their anxieties and worries – just like Martha does.
In Martha the (confident) Mouse, children hear Martha’s worries about being shy and afraid to join the group. They watch Martha struggle with the anxiety of meeting new friends…
Martha realizes that she’s got to overcome her worries – and gains the courage to make new friends – with a simple and visual strategy to ‘put away her worries’.
The story is whimiscally illustrated and speaks directly to many children’s fears of making new friends, entering new situations, and how to deal with what worries them. It’s a great way to talk to your child or group of children about what might worry them, and how they can identify their worries.
Children are naturally good at connecting books to their own world, and Martha’s story speaks simply to them about a common anxiety many children face. Martha overcomes her worries and finds a way to be confident, and realizes that the mice she wants to be friends with are really very friendly and not scary after all.
Karen Lang has also written Martha the (inquisitive) Mouse – a story that encourages Martha and the reader to use their imaginations to be whatever they want to be!
These wonderful stories with a true message for little readers are available through Martha the Mouse website as well as in select Chapters/Indigo locations.
Visit Kids Mental Health for more information on how to talk to your child about anxiety and other mental health concerns.
