Blog Post 2: International Book Awards (2018) – Children’s Mind/Body/Spirit

In my second blog post, I will discuss the 2018 International Book Award in the category children’s mind, body and spirit. This is an interesting topic to discuss because when people think of improving mental wellness, they usually think of adults instead of children. However, the development of emotional stability and intelligence is essential during childhood. When parents and educators teach children how to cope with stress, they are able to use techniques to regulate emotions, reduce anxiety, improve interpersonal relationships, and even effectively overcome life’s challenges. Moreover, when children acquire the ability to empathize with others despite differences, they develop deeper relationships that can be meaningful throughout their lives.

The 2018 Children’s Mind, Body and Spirit award winner was What Am I Feeling? Defining Emotions by Katie Flanagan. This is a picture book aimed to help children learn everyday feelings. And consequently, they are able to acquire emotional literacy and learn how to communicate effectively with friends, parents and educators. Furthermore, there were two other finalists running for the mind and body category. The first one I would like to mention is Worry Bee by Ann Biese. The main character in this book is a bumble bee that worries about occurrences in her daily life, and learns breathing techniques that help calm her down in order to take control of her emotions. Coping with fears and overwhelming feelings can be challenging when you are a child, specially because children aren’t as focused on their mental wellness.

The third finalist for this category was Don’t You Know You are Beautiful Just the Way You Are! by G.A. Sealy. This book was the most captivating one because it taught young girls to love themselves and accept their appearance despite societal expectations. The main character was Destiny, a young black girl who was unhappy with the way she looked. After having an honest and deep conversation with her mother, she realized that the media’s portrayal of women is completely different than reality. The misrepresentation of women in the media can damage a young girl’s confidence because gender roles are constantly enforced, and so is appearance. In contrast to the media’s portrayal women (less powerful, highly sexualized, and white), this book is a great counter narrative. The main character is a minority who is learning to love and accept herself, which is empowering to young readers. Ultimately, girls and boys should learn to always question misrepresentation in any situation: magazines, television, social media and even in children’s literature itself. Similarly to adults, children also go through a great deal of problems at home and at school. Thus, children’s mental wellness books should be more acclaimed in our modern society.

Works cited:

Flanagan, K., & Krupa, A. (2017). What am I feeling?: Defining emotions. Tolworth, Surrey: Grosvenor House Publishing Limited.

Sealy, G. (2016) Don’t You Know You are Beautiful Just the Way You Are. DaWit Publishing LLC.

Biese, A. (2018) Worry Bee. Pear Tree Publishing, Bradford, MA.