A cutely illustrated, chaotically disorganized, and jargon-heavy repackaging of behavioral therapies for anxiety.
A celebrity psychologist and the founder of a company that sells emotional learning programs team up for a workbook about managing anxiety.
How should kids manage the discomfort and panic that accompany anxiety? Worksheets and exercises teach readers the basics of many common anxiety management techniques in use today, drawing heavily from behavioral therapies for managing anxiety’s cognitive distortions. Fictionalized case studies populate each lesson, illustrated with dynamic, cartoonlike young people drawn with a variety of skin colors and hair textures. The problems the sample kids face are straightforward: Will I fail my math test? Will I fit in at this new school? Their anxieties are usually unfounded, which they learn through following the techniques. The overly tidy framing doesn’t do readers any favors: Adolescence can be scary and dangerous, and contemporary tweens and teens often face serious crises. While the exercises may be helpful for many anxiety sufferers, case studies focusing on self-esteem and perfectionism won’t speak to readers worried about serious illness, coming out, violence, or deportation. The use of Jackie Robinson to convey the idea that inner strength can defeat racism feels tone-deaf. Exercises hop from concept to concept, too heavily packed with acronyms, coinages, and techniques. Global statements addressed directly at “you” may make some readers feel seen while alienating those to whom these generalizations do not apply.
A cutely illustrated, chaotically disorganized, and jargon-heavy repackaging of behavioral therapies for anxiety. (endnotes, glossary, resources, index) (Self-help. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12639-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
A well-intentioned description of life before birth. The illustrations make use of photographs (including ultrasound) and artist’s drawings, often in the same image, and these are well used to clarify the text. How babies grow and develop inside the womb is both described and illustrated, and while the tone is one of forced cheer, the information is sound. Also offered are quite silly exercises for children to experience what life in the womb might be like, such as listening to a dishwasher to experience the sounds a baby hears inside its mother’s body, or being held under a towel or blanket by an adult and wiggling about. The getting-together of sperm and egg is lightly passed over, as is the actual process of birth. But children may be mesmerized by the drawings of the growing child inside the mother, and what activities predate their birth dates. Not an essential purchase, but adequate as an addition to the collection. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-894379-01-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Firefly
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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