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Emotions

1-2-3 A Calmer Me: Helping Children Cope When Emotions Get Out of Control

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1-2-3-A Calmer Me: Helping Children Cope When Emotions Get Out of Control by Colleen A. Patterson and Brenda S. Miles
Format: Children’s Picture Book
Who It’s for: Children and Caregivers

In this story, a little girl explains how she can get angry and frustrated sometimes. Like when she loses her balloon in the park. It is OK to get mad, but when you do, you can recite this rhyme.
1-2-3 a calmer me, 1-2-3 I hug me, 1-2-3 relax and b-r-e-a-t-h-e, 1-2-3 a calmer me.
The story introduces children to a simple rhyme they can use to slow down their bodies and stop mad feelings from spinning out of control.
The mantra or rhyme appears several times throughout this picture book whenever the little girl finds herself becoming upset from conflicts with friends, family and even while playing sports.

By memorizing the simple mantra, a child can use it to slow down their immediate reactions and replace them with words that are more comforting. The idea is based on the psychological principles of relaxation and mindfulness.

Find it in the Catalog

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do

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13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults, Teens

Let’s say you’re trying to get your body into good physical shape, you might go to the gym and have a long, heavy work out and feel like you’re moving in the right direction.  However, if you eat a box of donuts on the way home from the gym then you’ve just erased all your hard work!

The same thing can happen with our mental health.  There are many very positive things we can do for ourselves like practicing mindfulness, gratitude, or yoga but author Amy Morin points out that we might be sabotaging our best efforts with some bad mental habits.

Do I stress about things I can’t control?  Do I try to please everyone? Do I resent other people’s success? These are just three out of the thirteen bad mental habits that can drag us down and undermine our happiness.

Check this book out and give your mental health a workout. We can’t always change our circumstances but we do have control over our attitude and that can make all the difference!

Find it in the catalog

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

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The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom   
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Adults and Young Adults

 

On the morning after Annie is married, she and her husband Paolo are involved in a shocking balloon ride accident leaving them in critical condition. Paolo needs a lung transplant and Annie donates one of hers.

At eight years old, Annie was the survivor of a terrible accident. A falling amusement car severed her arm.  Eddie, a maintenance man pushed her to safety but was killed by the falling car. Annie’s arm is reattached in a miraculous surgery.

Annie endures a lot of bullying until she meets a boy named Paolo. They become friends until he moves away with his family.  Annie, estranged from her Mom after high school, wonders about the mistakes she’s made and why she survived the accident.

Years later Annie meets Paolo again. Soon they get married.

Annie awakens after the lung surgery but where is she?

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven follows Annie as she meets five people in heaven. One of them is Eddie the maintenance man who saved her. “‘Mistakes,'” Eddie declares. “‘That’s what I’m here to teach you about.”

Annie learns from her five people in heaven that, lives are intertwined in many ways.

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The Woman In Cabin 10

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The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

In this tightly wound, enthralling story, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime, a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins.  The sky is clear, the waters calm and the veneered, select guest jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Arora, begins her voyage in the North Sea.  At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant, the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guest are elegant.  But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall and Lo witnessees what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare, a woman being thrown overboard.  The problem, all passengers remain accounted for, so the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite her attempts to convey that something terrible has happened.

With surprising twist, turns and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautify, Ruth Ware offers up another intense read.

Find it in the catalog.

Whale in a Fishbowl

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Whale in a Fishbowl by Troy Howell & Richard Jones Illustrator
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Children & To All Who Are Waiting… Unknowingly to be Free!

Wednesday is a Whale who lives in a gigantic fishbowl in the middle of the city. She always watches the people hurrying, pedaling, wheeling and worrying around her. Wednesday can’t see anything but the busy city until she jumps up, then catches a glimpse of blue. Blue made heart soar and she loved leaping up to see it. The people around her thought she was doing tricks. But, Wednesday just wanted one more glimpse. When she wasn’t leaping, she stayed at the bottom. One day a little girl tapped on the glass,”Hey.” They gazed at each other. Her eyes were blue too. “My name is Piper. You don’t belong in there.” As Piper was leaving she called, “You belong in the sea!”
The sea. What is the sea? Thought Wednesday.
Because whales don’t belong in fishbowls do they?
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Rescue & Jessica A Life-Changing Friendship

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Rescue & Jessica: A Life Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes
Format: Easy Picture Book
Who It’s For: Children

Rescue is a pup who grew up on a special farm where dogs are trained to help people who cannot see. His trainer said he would be better suited as a service dog. Could he be a good service dog and what would his new partner be like? Then he meets Jessica, a girl whose life turned out differently than she thought. Jessica needs Rescue by her side to help her accomplish everyday things. Her legs were badly hurt and she had to have part of her left leg removed to become healthy again. She is an amputee now, said her Doctor and she would need a prosthetic leg or use a wheelchair.
On the farm, Rescue was learning how to be a service dog who could open doors, fetch things and be a helper.
Jessica was learning new ways to do things. It was hard and she was discouraged until a visitor came and brought their service dog. Jessica saw how a smart dog like that could help her and filled out an application to get a dog that day.
Rescue and Jessica got the news that they would be partners. Rescue and Jessica finally met. Rescue showed her all the things he could do to help her. “You’re amazing!” Jessica told Rescue. They learned how to take care of each other.
This story is based on a real life friendship between Jessica Kensky and a black Labrador retriever named Rescue. Jessica was injured during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. She eventually became a double amputee. Rescue and Jessica learned how to do all the things they needed to do together.
Find it in the catalog.