There are many children’s books out there but the the two I’m featuring in this post are a not only beautifully written and illustrated but the stories have important and meaningful messages.
Cookie – Isabelle Duff and Suzanne Crispe
Cookie is a story about Girl and her Border Collie, Cookie. Cookie loves all the things dogs love like smelling smelly things, chewing chewy things, going for adventures and making friends. But most of all Cookie loves Girl. This book follows the adventures of Girl and Cookie and how they make each other happy, even on those days when Cookie is the only one who can make Girl smile. This book provides a starting point for bigger discussions about mental health in children
Written by Isabelle Duff when she was just eighteen years old, Isabelle was inspired by her personal experiences with acute depressive disorder, anxiety and by her wonderful dog Saffy who has been an invaluable support to her.
Having been through some challenging times myself over the past year having loved ones – including cherished pets to support you is so important. Cookie is a beautiful story which will help reduce the stigmatism around mental illness, and pay tribute to the loved ones who are able to get you out of bed when nothing else can.
This book provides a starting point for bigger discussions about mental health in children
Cookie is recommended for children 4-8 and is available from www.ekbooks.org and wherever good books are sold. RRP $24.99
Toy Mountain – Stef Gemmill and Katharine Hall
It’s every child’s dream come true to be a toy tester for a toy tester for a toy factory, right? That’s what happened to Sam the lead character in Toy Mountain. Abuzz with excitement Sam takes on his job with gusto and pretty soon his house is filled with plastic toys in all sorts of shapes and colours. But one by one and plonk by plonk, his shiny new toys start to break. Soon enough, Sam has a mountain of broken toys that just won’t stop growing. Toy Mountain is an important story about protecting the environment and cherishing our belongings.
Things that break are thrown out without thought to the scrap heap. Our kids as consumers are contributing to the mountains of waste, with the toy industry being the most plastic intensive industry in the world.
Toy Mountain is recommended for children 4-8 and is available from www.ekbooks.org and wherever great books are sold. RRP $24.99
