Positivity is My Superpower: A Kid’s Book about Managing Negative Feelings and Feelings(My Superpowers Books 10)
Written by Alicia Ortego
This book is part of a series that focuses on dealing with children’s emotions and turning them into superpowers.
In this book, Lucas is the protagonist. He is facing a move to a different city. That releases a flood of emotions, most of them negative. Lucas is dealing with anxiety, uncertainty, and fear of the unknown. He does not want to leave the house he grew up or the friends he cherishes.
Lucas’s mom comes to the rescue She reassures him with gentle words and simple actions like blowing bubbles that turn his negative feelings into positive ones like hopefulness, confidence, and a sense of adventure.
This rhyming picture book serves as a good teaching tool for elementary age students to enhance social-emotional skills.
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Have you experienced decision fatigue? I’m sure you have, you may just not have had a word for it. It’s that feeling when you get toward the end of a busy and even stressful day, and you simply can’t make another decision. You can’t figure out what you should cook for dinner, and even the idea of picking something to watch on Netflix seems like a chore. Those are the days you’ve been suffering from decision fatigue.
We all experience them, and the more taxing your job is, and the more you’re required to make decisions throughout the day, the more you find yourself suffering from decision fatigue. That shouldn’t come as a big surprise. When we spend all day walking or running around, we feel tired in the evening and our muscles fatigue. If you’ve ever participated in any endurance sports event (or gone for a long run after a period of inactivity), you’ve experienced muscle fatigue. Why shouldn’t we experience the same when we tax our mind with lots of decision making?
Not only does decision fatigue impair our ability to make decisions altogether, but it also affects the quality of our decision making and our willpower. In short, after a long day of making good choice after good choice, we tend to start making bad ones. There’s a reason we see a lot of “Made for TV” products and infomercials on TV late at night and it isn’t just because of the cheaper advertising rates. It’s because that’s the time of day we’re most prone to making impulse purchases. It’s also when we give up on our diets and healthy eating intentions.
Keep this idea of decision fatigue in mind when you try to get a few last minute tasks done at the end of a long day. That may not be the best time for important choices or tasks that require well thought out responses or clear decision making.
Similarly, you should expect your team members, coworkers, bosses, and loved ones to experience the same. Asking your boss for a raise right before quitting time on Friday may not be a good idea. Your chances of getting a yes significantly increase if you wait until first thing Monday morning. Don’t expect your family to make healthy dinner and snack choices in the evening. Instead, plan your meals early on in the day and have them figured out well before lunchtime.
Important Lesson #1 – Don’t tackle important or difficult decisions late in the day, particularly if you’ve made a lot of decisions in the hours leading up to it already.
Now that we’ve established that there is such a thing as decision fatigue, we’ll investigate some things we can do to void it. The answer is simple. We need to find a way to reduce the number of decisions we make on a daily basis. Here are some simple ideas for cutting some of them from our lives.
Use Habits and Routines To Your Advantage
Let’s start with something you already know how to do. You may just not realize it. That’s creating routines and habits to cut back on the decisions you have to make. You don’t have to decide to brush your teeth every morning or talk yourself into deciding to go to work today. Instead, it’s a habit and something you do without having to think about, and more importantly without having to waste one of your precious and limited decisions.
As you go about your day and make decisions, particularly if they are decisions that you make on a regular basis, stop yourself and see if there’s a way you can turn that decision into a habit or routine.
Instead of spending the first minutes of your day figuring out what you should wear, create a simple uniform for yourself. Find a few pairs of similar pants and a couple of mix-and-match tops. Rotate through those outfits, so you always know what to wear on a given morning.
If there is a recurring task at work, you should schedule to do it first thing in the morning or right before you head to lunch. That gets it out of the way without having to decide when to take care of it.
Plan Ahead
Another great solution is to batch your decisions and plan ahead. Let’s use your food choices as an example. We all eat, and we make quite a few daily decisions about what to eat. You can cut those out of your daily routine by creating a weekly or monthly meal plan. Start with dinner. Sit down and come up with your dinner ideas for the week. Write them down and post them on the fridge door. When you go grocery shopping be sure to pick up everything you need. That way you don’t have to agonize about what to fix for dinner when you get home after a long day at the office. From there, expand and include breakfast and lunch plans as well. You can even choose a daily snack for yourself. For bonus points, create a couple of these menus and start rotating through them week after week. Once you’ve made your original meal plans, there’s no more decision making involved.
You can easily adapt this principle to other areas of your life and work. Sit down and make out a to-do list first thing in the morning or before you head home in the afternoon. You can batch a whole bunch of decisions together and have a game plan for your workday. Think about other ways to incorporate this into your life and cut back on the decisions you make.
Delegate And Cut Down Choices
Last but not least, start reducing the choices you have to make altogether. Not every decision has to be made by you. If you’re working in a team or have people under you, don’t be afraid to delegate. Yes, in the beginning, it’s a little extra work to explain what needs to happen and what’s involved. But as you start to delegate and give these people more and more responsibility, your decision making tasks will be considerably cut back. That allows you to focus on the critical stuff.
Another great strategy is to simply cut down on the number of choices you give yourself (and others). Get in the habit of trimming the list before you even attempt to choose.
These tips may seem like little things, but they will quickly add up. It doesn’t take a lot of decision cutting back to notice a big difference in when and how hard decision fatigue hits. Give it a try.
I thought we should end on a high note. The good news is that your decision-making abilities replenish and they do so regularly. In the last section of this short report, we’re going to go over the various ways we can encourage that replenishment and when and how it happens naturally.
In general, your decision-making ability replenishes with rest and with relaxation. Since we’re getting less and less of that in these busy times, it’s no wonder decision fatigue is becoming a big issue.
Decision-Making Ability Replenishes Overnight
Don’t panic when you find yourself unable to make another decision at the end of a long day. Sleeping replenishes your ability to make smart choices overnight. You’ll be back to a clear head and able to make important decisions in the morning. Use this to your advantage. If you feel decision fatigue is setting in you should rein things in for the rest of the day. Don’t schedule important meetings in the evening and use your mornings wisely.
Sometimes It Pays To Take A Mental Health Day
We all get busy, and we all get stressed out from time to time. When a good nights sleep doesn’t seem quite enough to bring your decision making batteries back to full strength, it may be a good idea to take the day off.
Do something fun, relax, destress, and most importantly make as few decisions as possible and certainly no important decisions. You’ll come back refreshed and ready to go.
Go Outside And Get Some Air
Sometimes taking the day off or waiting for the following morning isn’t an option. An important decision is expected from you before you leave the office, or within the next hour or so. If you’re feeling decision fatigue is setting in when a decision is needed there are two things I want you to remember. The first is that all other decisions can wait. Focus on making just the one more that can’t wait.
Go outside, get some air, and clear your head before you make your choice. While this won’t work as well as sleep or a day off, it may be just enough to give you that little boost of energy and willpower you need to make the right decision.
It May Be Time For A Vacation
Last but not least, let’s talk about taking a few days off and going on vacation. You know from experience how invigorating and restful a trip can be. Take advantage of this and come back ready to make those important decisions about the future of your company, your family, or what projects you want to tackle during the next quarter.
Above all remember to use your decision-making skills wisely and learn to recognize decision fatigue before it leads you to make a bad choice.
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The author tackles several difficult issues that middle-grade students might find insurmountable.
Georgia is a sixth grade student who desperately wants a dog. She cannot convince her parents to agree, and they argue incessantly.
One day, Georgia succeeds in convincing her mother to take her to the humane society “just to look.” Enter Chester, an adorable toothless mixed breed who turns out to be “pyschic.” Georgia’s world is rocked when her dad finds the dog at home and walks out on the family. Is it Georgia’s fault?
Georgia faces the usual middle graders difficulty handling jealousy and peer relationships. Up to this time, she has relied on her Magic 8 ball to give her the answers, but now her world has been turned upside down. That is, until she discovers her dog might be able to help.
The characters are believable and genuine. They are placed in situations that seem impossible to solve, but this author navigates them and explains them in a way relatable to its target eight to twelve age audience.
I would highly recommend it to parents, teachers, and counselors who work with this age group as a tool to discuss divorce, illness, and mental health issues.
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Publisher: Miranda Moose Publishers, LLC | ISBN-13: 9798988046004
Publisher’s Synopsis:Miranda Moose Loves Orange Juice is a delightful tale about friendship, perseverance, and self-empowerment for ages 2-6. Follow Miranda as she embarks on an adventure to find her favorite drink! With the help of her farm animal friends, she discovers the power of self-reliance and realizes that what you need may only be as far as your own backyard! Filled with vivid illustrations and heartwarming rhymes, Miranda Moose Loves Orange Juice will captivate your little ones and leave them with a valuable lesson.
As a stay-at-home mother, Melanie Brazdzionis spent much of her time engaging, educating, and entertaining her two children.
Miranda Moose Loves Orange Juice was a result of those very efforts.
Prior to becoming a mother, Melanie wrote lyrics and music for her original rock band in the late 1980s. More recently, she launched a virtual assistant business to edit other people’s newsletters and websites. Her current focus is on creating and publishing stories to entertain other people’s children.
When Melanie is not writing, she is practicing yoga, playing piano, studying French, hiking, or traveling. Melanie lives with her husband in Connecticut.
Ning Loo has harbored a deep love for creating, sharing, admiring, and learning about art since childhood. Encouraged by her parents from a tender age, Ning’s early drawings, though crude, sparked admiration and encouragement from her family.
A graduate of the University of Edinburgh with a degree in biotechnology, Ning’s passion for drawing and painting has remained a constant throughout her life. She eagerly anticipates every opportunity to immerse herself in her beloved art supplies, finding solace and joy in the creative process.
When presented with the chance to illustrate Miranda Moose Loves Orange Juice, Ning’s excitement knew no bounds; she couldn’t help but do a little dance right in the middle of her office! Her journey with MMLOJ has been nothing short of delightful. Collaborating with the gracious author, Ning brought to life cozy characters adorned in charming outfits, all the while discovering more about her unique art style.
Ning feels privileged to be a part of this enchanting book and hopes that her illustrations will bring comfort, wonder, and joy to readers of all ages, spreading the magic of Miranda Moose’s adventures far and wide.
MY REVIEW OF THIS BOOK:
FRESHLY SQUEEZED
Miranda Moose Loves Orange Juice
Written by Melanie Brazdzioni
Illustrated by Zing Loo
A charming picture book that teaches children the value of perseverance, empathy, and friendship.
Miranda possesses a rather eclectic taste for a moose. She enjoys things like jam, soda, and fruits, but she especially craves orange juice. One day, she wakes up to find that she is out of orange juice. When her local grocery store is out of stock, Miranda goes off to the farm hoping to find OJ. After interviewing several animals who cannot help her, Miranda gets a clue to point her in the right direction.
The rhymes are crisp and sharp, and the dialogue with animal friends spot on. This book should be read aloud to enjoy it fully. Toddler friends and toddlers will love meeting their favorite farm animal friends, and following the plight of Miranda as she refuses to give up.
GIVEAWAY
Enter the giveaway for your chance to win a signed hardcover copy or a 25-book classroom set of Miranda Moose Loves Orange Juice!
Publisher: AM Ink Publishing (2024) ISBN-13: 978-1-958842-24-9
Publisher’s Book Summary: A precocious pug delights in shenanigans which drive her frazzled owner to declare she will give her pup away!
Laugh along with the snorting, snoring, and gaseous clown of the canine world as its owner struggles to reign in the messes and mayhem of a new addition. But there is nothing that a few licks and cuddles can’t fix, right?
A true delight that any family can relate to, Ode to a Pug is full of heart… and a lot of slobber.
Jill Rosen is a career marketer and advertiser who lives with two kids, three dogs, two cats, one bird, and a former stand-up comic and Princeton sketch-comedy writing husband. She doesn’t need to go far for comedic inspiration or advice!
Through her brand management work, Jill’s early recognition of, and appreciation for, powerful writing and artistic design only flourished. She is a seasoned workshop facilitator and strategic healthcare consultant specializing in the areas of mental health and infertility.
Jill was inspired to begin writing her own stories by her two boys, both avid readers. Now Jill can’t wait to share them with all the young readers out there.
Steph Rohr is a French Award-winning children’s book illustrator who earned a distinction from ECV Art School in Paris. She is fond of anything silly, funny, wacky, daft, and colorful. A freelance Illustrator & Art Director, Steph has been working in London in publishing and advertising.
What a delightful picture book to delight dog lovers! The protagonist is a woman who has just adopted a new member of the family, an adorable pug. But wait, this cuddly little creature proves to be a lot more than she can handle.
He snorts, toots, tinkles on the carpet, and destroys the furniture. This tiny creature creates chaos everywhere he sets foot. Finally, the owner has had enough. Today is the day she will get rid of him!
Then she looks at those endearing eyes, can she follow through?
This picture book consists of short, clever rhymes and simple, cartoon-like illustrations that will delight young children and adults alike. Anyone who has owned a puppy will empathize with the owner and feel her mixed emotions.
GIVEAWAY
Enter the giveaway for the chance to win an author-signed hardcover copy ofOde to a Pug, a 4″ custom pug plush, plus a die-cut pug sticker!
Born in a Treacherous Time (Dawn of Humanity Book 1)
Written by Jacqui Murray
I read Jean Auel’s series and as other reviewers have mentioned, this series has a similar flavor.
The reader meets Lucy, a Homo Habilis creature, living in Africa 1.8 million years ago. She struggles each day to live to the next one. The author introduces a slew of characters. At the beginning of the book, it is difficult to sort them out, but they add depth to a plot that includes descriptions of ancient peoples struggles to communicate, to hunt and be hunted, and compete with an environment they did not know how to control.
This book is, of course, historical fiction. The amount of historical evidence is scant and much is left to our imagination. In my opinion, Murray does an excellent job of fitting the pieces together while adding compassion and empathy to soften the rough edges.
Recommended for readers ages ten and older who enjoy historical fiction, especially in the prehistory genre.
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Publisher: Valley of Mexico | ISBN-13: 9781950957248
Publisher’s Book Summary: Everything is fun until nighttime comes. Are the howls in the dark only in their imaginations, or do ghosts and goblins become real when the full moon rises?
The children love visiting Grandmother. Playing great games and reading cool books goes perfectly with eating her delicious cookies and cakes. But when bedtime comes and off go the lights, things get a little scary as they say their goodnights.
The kids shiver at the creepy sounds from the attic and the strange shadows floating through the air. But Gran’s not worried at all; in fact, she has a secret to share…
Will they find a way to get over their dread, so they can finally rest their heads?
Grandma’s House is Haunted is a delightful children’s picture book, both spooky and sweet. If you like Halloween fun, bumps in the night, and doting grannies, then you’ll adore Stephen G. Bowling’s cheerfully eerie Picture Book that shows children there’s nothing to be afraid of when the lights go out.
Read Grandma’s House is Haunted to happily hide under the covers today!
Stephen G. Bowling is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Much like Peter Pan, Steve never wanted to grow up. Or rather, while he didn’t mind getting older, he never wanted to lose the child-like enchantment of imagination and wonder. Creating colorful worlds and stories for children has allowed Steve to both preserve his own imagination while sharing the joy of learning with children worldwide.
Steve has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brandeis University. He is an entrepreneur who has worked on and holds several U.S. Patents. He heads The Prometheum Foundation, a non-profit philosophical organization that helps teach students critical and analytical thinking, freedom of thought, and entrance into the marketplace of ideas. He is a lifelong weightlifter, an avid student of history and philosophy, and has a fascination with astrophysics.
A charming picture book that is clever, charming, and creative. The narrators are a brother and sister who describe their experiences when visiting their grandma’s house. While they thoroughly enjoy reading books, playing games, and laughing during the daylight hours, grandma’s old house transforms into a scary place at night.
The children imagine ghosts, goblins, shadows become witches, wolves, and all manner of beasts when darkness descends. Grandma calmly dispels all their fears by pointing out the sources of their imaginary visions and sounds.
I love the vintage feel of the illustrations painted with emotional expressions and coupled with crisp rhymes. The author deftly uses onomatopoeia and alliteration that promotes a fun read aloud. Vocabulary can be difficult in spots, but readers are encouraged to use context clues to stretch their reading comprehension.
I would highly recommend the book to both elementary and middle-grade readers for a Halloween choice or any time of the year.
GIVEAWAY
Enter for the chance to win a set of five books by Stephen G. Bowling, including Grandma’s House Is Haunted, and a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card!
One (1) grand prize winner receives:
– A paperback copy of Grandma’s House is Haunted
– A paperback copy of Calvin the Christmas Tree
– A paperback copy of Simon’s Tree Party
– A paperback copy of Simon’s Search for the Scary Dragon
– A paperback copy of Rocket to the Moon
– A $25 Amazon Gift Card
One (1) runner-up winner receives:
– A paperback copy of Grandma’s House is Haunted
– A paperback copy of Calvin the Christmas Tree
– A paperback copy of Simon’s Tree Party
– A paperback copy of Simon’s Search for the Scary Dragon
An interesting choice for young adults and adults who enjoy medieval history. Narrated from the perspective of a nine year old boy, Archibald Douglas, who is orphaned in fourteenth century Scotland and exiled with the Scottish king to France.
It follows the career of Douglas as he passes through the stages of knighthood and eventually returns to Scotland to revenge the king. The author has a lot of experience with nonfiction so there is much attention to historical detail. The language with Scottish inflection is sometimes difficult to follow. Tomlin attempts to remedy that with an extensive glossary.
This book is part of a series. Readers who seek a satisfying ending may be disappointed. For readers who enjoy history with interesting characters and battle scenes, this series will fit the bill nicely.
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Cheeku is a mischievous boy who lives with his grandmother. He tries to avoid getting up for school but reluctantly rises and steals mangoes from the monkeys on his way. But the monkeys chase him and he falls into a tunnel where his adventure begins.
Cheeku meets an ant colony. The queen grants him magic powers to be both a boy and an ant. In the following days, Cheeku discovers the value of friendship, the meaning of forgiveness, and the definition of teamwork.
Can a naughty little boy learn a valuable lesson from these tiny creatures?
Colorful, expressive illustrations that evoke strong emotions link the story effectively to the lessons taught. A multicultural tale that teaches and entertains elementary school children.
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My Very First Friend: A Rhyming Picture Book About a Boy and His Dog
Written by Kristina Sheldon
Illustrated by Jillian Dister
Many first-time parents already have a dog in their home when their first child arrives. This picture book features a young boy reflecting on his early experiences with the family dog. That pet became his very first friend and protector.
The simple rhymes and soft illustrations appeal to babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. It is a nice memento for dog-loving families with a young child.
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June 9, 2024
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