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Thursday, October 24, 2019

Bad Day by Ruby Roth (Review)


Bad Day is a great learning tool that parents can use to teach their children to face their feelings and manage them in a healthy way.

Book Details:

Bad Day, written and illustrated by Ruby Roth
Published by North Atlantic Books
Published: September 10, 2019
Hardcover picture book:  32 pages
For children ages 3-7
Content rating: G

Book Description:

Popular children's book author-illustrator Ruby Roth gives us the heartening story of a little boy who's had a very bad day and just needs some quiet space to work out his feelings in his own way, on his own time.

What do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed? In Bad Day, things are not going well for Hennie. Small things loom large, going from bad to worse as the day-that-never-ends goes on. But with a deep breath and some quiet reflection, Hennie begins to make sense of his feelings and discovers the power of turning inward. Affirming and funny at wonderfully relatable moments, this timely mindfulness resource helps children process their inner lives, guiding them toward self-empowerment and resilience.

My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

As a parent, I have always felt that books are not only a window into other worlds but also resources to help our children navigate the difficulties of life. We live in a stressful world, and young children are feeling anxiety without knowing how to deal with it. I was happy to read Bad Day that tackles this topic and empowers children to become aware of and to change their thought processes to bring about change. This mindfullness habit is powerful and should be taught to all children.

In Bad Day, a boy is having a bad day and he doesn't know why. That happens to me too. Some of us instinctively want to withdraw, as does this boy. He puts a brown paper bag over his head to hide. This can be symbolic for retreating into our room, for shutting the world out, which is okay to do when we need to deal with our feelings. But after some reflection of what happened throughout his day that has made him feel bad and some wallowing in his grief and anger, the boy begins to reflect. He recognizes that he had a bad day but that he can analize his feelings (even if this is painful), handle them, and then decide he is strong and can feel good again.

Honestly, this is the first step to getting out of a depressed state. One needs to train the mind to see what has caused these feelings and then to decide to move on and learn from them. Having a children's book that deals with this important skill is so refreshing. I wish I had this book when I was a kid!

The illustrations are simple but perfect for this book since they truly focus on the boy and his being alone with his thoughts. Even a very young child could understand what is going on. There are no distractions in the illustrations, and the cartoonish drawings are appropriate for this age group.

Bad Day is a great learning tool that parents can use to teach their children to face their feelings and to see that things do get better. We have control over how we feel and teaching this to our children can empower them. Kudos to Ruby Roth for tackling this topic! 

Disclosure: Thanks to the publisher for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

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About the Author:


Featured on Today, FOX, CNN, and other major media, Ruby Roth is a Los Angeles-based artist, author-illustrator, activist, and former teacher whose groundbreaking children's books have received international attention and have been translated into multiple languages. She holds degrees in art and American studies and speaks at conferences nationwide. 

Weaving art together with health, wellness, the environment, and society at large, Roth’s work connects the dots between our personal choices and the public realm, showing how our habits can change our lives—and the world we live in. Bad Day is Roth's fifth picture book, and her first on issues of emotions and neuro-diversity. For more info, visit her online at rubyroth.co

Connect with the author: Website


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2 comments :

  1. i think it's very important children learn coping skills and this sounds like a good book to help them do that
    sherry @ fundinmental

    ReplyDelete

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