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Sam saw something awful and scary Ms. Carol, a special therapist, will show Sam how to feel better. Children can help Sam feel better too by using drawings, play, and storytelling activities. They will be able to identify and manage their own feelings and difficulties in their lives following a traumatic event, crisis, or grief. Therapists' Acclaim for Sam Feels Better Now "This beautiful little picture book is the ideal guide for a series of therapy sessions that will focus the child's attention on positives and help to deal with the traumatic memories" -- Bob Rich, PhD., AnxietyAndDepression-help.com "Sam Feels Better Now" provides the child and therapist a safe metaphor for exploring trauma issues. The story teaches children that coming to therapy can be a good thing." --JoAnna White, Ed.D., Professor and Chair Department of Counseling and Psychological Services, Georgia State Univ. Visit the author online: www.JillOsborne.com Book #2 in the Growing with Love Series From Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com "Redefining what's possible for healing mind and spirit since 2003."… (more)
User reviews
Through Sam's story, children get involved in helping
Since this is an interactive book, though, I found the story to be too simple (the whole text would fill only ¾ of a page) and could be elaborated with additional text and dialogue. The therapist guide included in the back of the book states that this story is appropriate for children ages 4-10, however I think it only appropriate for ages 4-7. The text and illustrations are fine for a young child (my 5-year-old liked the book) but an older child (8 and over) would prefer text suitable for their age group and perhaps cartoon strips or more complex illustrations. I read the book to my 8-year-old daughter who said, “Mom, this book is babyish.” I explained the purpose of the book, which elicited a keener response on her part. She then made the suggestion that rather than just colour the feelings (an exercise on p.24) she would want to draw them too.
The guide also states that this book “incorporates expressive techniques and play therapy techniques…to assist the child with learning various coping skills…”. This is where I feel the book could be improved by not only stating these techniques but also incorporating them into greater detail throughout the story by illustrating how they could be done. The six sections of the book are too short and general and could be developed further. For example: How do Sam, his mom, and the therapist make a routine to help him eat and sleep? How could Sam approach the list of people he trusts when he doesn’t feel safe or happy? What are the relaxing techniques the therapist shows Sam to help him feel better?
Further elaboration of these techniques could be included with the therapist notes found in the guide section, as well. At the price of $24.95, this book needs to show its worth by giving the therapist more than a basic guide of techniques familiar to any experienced therapist who works with children. In addition, since this book is for use by professionals, it needs to be professionally edited. Because of the large print and few sentences per page, the several punctuation errors I found were blaringly evident.
Overall, I found this book to be a useful tool that with improvement can become an excellent program for any therapist or teacher involved with children who’ve suffered psychological trauma.
This book points out the importance of security
This book even allows you to draw and understand more fully the range of feelings that you can go through. Many of these emotions can be especially difficult for a younger child to understand.
This was a really great book on further exploration of feelings. My six year old really enjoyed it and likes it even more because he got to color and draw.
RATING: ♥♥♥♥
Pages: 41
Softcover
Review copy of this book provided by the author/publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. In no way did the provision of the book affect the outcome of my review.