I Can Handle It (Mindful Mantras Book 1)

This is a cute idea, but I do wish they had made some revisions before sending it to print. Saying that crying yourself to sleep is a good way to handle bedtime is a little ridiculous. Luckily my kid can't read and I make changes as I go. I was actually surprised at how much my kid likes this book, he usually hates anything too babyish (hes turning 6) but he asked for this book over and over because i really think it helped with his anxiety about kindergarten

I did not like the illustrations. The illustrator in an attempt to show a child asking forgiveness has them kneeling to a parent. There are two pictures of a kid kneeling. I just don't think, I'd want to show/read that to my child. Writing is okay. Just not what I expected from a book of this nature. I returned it.

I downloaded this book to my IPad for $3.50 to read it before recommending it to a friend whose 6-year-old gets easily-hurt feelings. But Wow! This one is for every child (4+), and the notion of "handling it" is definitely helpful for adults too. Albert Ellis, the renowned psychologist, author of rational emotive behavioral therapy, maintained that, the now commonly used term, "awfulizing" exacerbates folks' experience of negative events, impeding coping. So starting with young kids with a book like this is a great beginning. It addresses all the ways in which kids can manage disappointments: a friend's rejection, a sibling's insults, having to get out of the water, turn in for bedtime, and many more. Naturally, any progress towards understanding and accepting these events helps kids to better manage their own behavior. Once they get the gist of "I can handle it," the seed of applying it to other letdowns is planted. While reading it to my 4-year-old grandson, after hearing "I can handle it" several times, when I read "but I can...", if I paused, he began filling in the rest--"handle it." I'm not suggesting miracles or immediate results, but it's a definite asset. The book is delightful, particularly in providing creative doable solutions, including some neat silly options. The illustrations are charming and many giggle-inducing. It's a keeper.

My son read the book to my grandboy as soon as the gift came in the mail. I watched on FaceTime and by the time my son finished reading this wonderful book, my 4 yr old grandson was doing thumbs up with the mantra "I Can Handle It!"
It made this Nana VERY happy!

The bearnstein bears offer more in manner /behaviour matters like this topic. Didn't like this book much, I can handle it on many issues are just giving unrealistic options, I felt it's target was making kids just repeat reading " I can handle it" more than how!

I wish that each page wouldn't end with the same line...I can handle it. Makes the story quite repetitive and a little boring. Maybe it would be best for Kdg students who need lots of repetition. But overall, I like the message directly to the student that no matter what comes your way, you can handle it.

We don't particularly like this book. Poor story line- actually not a story line, just naming events or situations that upset the kid and then various choices he can make to get through it. The kids said it was lame. I agree. Thought there would be some sort of interesting story about overcoming difficulties. Not so.

I was hoping this book would be filled with more helpful thoughts for kids and ways of thinking beyond "I can handle it." The main phrase is definitely a good message, but it was disappointing. It also shared little about reaching out to a parent or using a close relationship for help.

I had to return this book. I somehow thought that a book that is supposed to help children overcome difficulties would be written by a (team of) professional(s). Reading this to my daughter made me uncomfortable: the main character has an "annoying" sister (completely unnecessary); some of the suggestions are supposed to be funny (they are honestly just stupid or even borderline cruel), and some are supposed to be serious. If the child is already confused about their complex feelings, and they ARE a child, how do we expect them to figure out what's supposed to be a "silly" joke and what's a serious suggestion? Their minds early on work in a very literal way!

In the end, I found myself explaining the book - or how it should be written - to my daughter, rather than just reading it. I really hope that we'll start getting more quality control in mental health publishing.

(I have a PhD in literature and would not dare write a children's mental health book because I don't have the expertise; a simple google check shoed that this author's credentials are nonexistent.)

My daughter is 6 and has a difficult time controlling her negative emotions...we will be reading this daily. It really spoke to her and gave her a sense of control of herself and turning her feelings from negative to positive. Thanks!

WOW! What an awesome book! My seven-year-old son has high-functioning autism. He is prone to black-and-white thinking and melts down easily over seemingly small frustrations. I was hoping this book would strike a chord with him - and it did! We had fun talking through each of the boy’s ideas for solving each problem. There’s always a joke idea too, which may be lost on younger readers. My son actually has a good sense of jokes. Some of the reviews are referring to these joke reasons as terrible guidance - that’s because they are supposed to be the “silly” solution, such as crying one’s self to sleep because you don’t want to go to bed yet. The silly answer helps the child move toward the more reasonable choices.

This book is meant to give children a mantra to handle difficult every day situations. A way to overcome their frustration or anger by coming up with alternatives. It’s like a way to cheer themselves on and replace their internal messaging in those moments. It’s not meant to tell children of trauma that they can handle things on their own.

My son kept saying “just like me!” And the look on his face the next morning when I asked him if he could “handle it” about something - he was like, “yeah!”

I really wish this book came in hardback or a library binding. I want to buy one for our school’s library!

Good launching point for a counseling lesson on brainstorming through frustrations. I think it would have been stronger if that was underscored - the fact that he can handle things because he creatively thinks through his problems. Sometimes he comes up with absurd or odd ideas - more thoughtful or helpful ideas to get anxious kids to really stop and think would have made the book outstanding. But, as a prop for a lesson it provides a great beginning that you can add to yourself to get kids thinking outside of themselves.

This is an inspiring and encouraging book. I really love the illustrations throughout and the message that it represents. I think this will give children confidence that they can handle whatever comes their way :)

xo
Rach

This is a really good book for over dramatic small children. It puts things in perspective for them and teaches them that they can handle their own emotions. Instead of falling to pieces over every little thing they are taught to look around and see what they can do themselves in order to feel better.

This book was easy for my kid to read out loud. It made him smile and laugh and now he wants to read more out of this series.

It is usually very hard for me to keep him interested in reading for any period of time.

Simple and creative reminders for children and adults alike to realize that we can choose how we act and not simply react to daily disappointments. Instills creativity in imagining any number of responses!

As a kids yoga teacher, I found this book to be of great help in teaching kids how to handle emotions. As an adult, I guess we all still need tools to handle eveything. Thank you fot creating a simple yet effective way of learning how to handle our emotions

I did not like this book for my son. I'm always looking for positive books to help my son feel confident. This book focused on how other people feel about the main character. I never want my son to focus on what people think or do. So the perspective in this book was all wrong for me. I did not like this at all.

This is a great story for young children. The message relayed throughout this book is an important one. We all get frustrated, annoyed, sad, etc. There are times we don't get our way. This book passes along less-than-great situations that are common to most children, and offers solutions on how to handle those situations. Some solutions are practical, others are simply humorous. The illustrations and language used throughout the book are appropriate for children of any age, and the story is short enough even for kids who have a shorter attention span. I recommended reading this book with your child or student, or have him or her read the book to you. This will give you and your child an opportunity to discuss those ideas from the book of which he or she can find relatable.

This book was short and got to the point. I wish that there were more situations that kids would find themselves in, but I get why it doesnt. It's the simplest things that can have an impact. I also wish that the illustrations were a little more animated and more colorful. Not bad though.

I’ve been looking for a good book for my child on the spectrum express his feelings and words. This is a good book for those that can’t always articulate it. It provides solutions and ideas to help the, navigate through some emotions. I’d recommend

Great bed time reading my kids enjoyed the learning parts on how to handle situations and the illustrations were cute. It was a great book and we would recommend it to others. Very well written with thoughtfulness.

I appreciate the humour used in this book to tackle big feelings such as frustration, anger and disappointment. My 4 year old wanted to immediately read it again! This book is a terrific resource for early childhood educators and grade school teachers.

Shows good examples of typical child problems..but I was hoping this book would be more the age for my preschooler..but other then that it is a good book showing kids alternate ways to deal with things

I read this book keeping in mind a specific student. This book is a well written and thoughtful book. The illustrations are very sweet. For me, it’s just missing a brief explanation of consequence and the perceived disrespect when emotions can’t be controlled. I think it’s ok to let the child know that when he’s not “handling it” he needs to take a time out to reflect and regain control.

It’s great to create confidence in children’s self abilities to problem solve and to manage a great range of feelings, but they need emotional coaches. It bothers me that looking for adults’ positive support was omitted, and telling a kid to cry himself to sleep gives me a deep sense of loneliness.

There is nothing more precious than our children and their state of minds, their love of themselves, their confidence and the way they can handle the stressors in their lives. It's not often that you find a book that is written for young children that hits straight to the heart on all of the aforementioned. When my 6 year old son read this book for the first time, he loved the graphics. They really stood out to him, especially when the porcupine is laughing at Sebastian's elf shoes!
The reality of the issues that the main character finds his young self having to deal with are so relatable: when his sister won't stop bugging him, he's miserable when it's bed time, or when he's ashamed for doing something wrong.
And because of this book, "I Can Handle It' has become a phrase that is used in our household often. This is a reference not only to the book, but the way Sebastian deals with his own issues, and my son can see himself in the main character.
We love this book and the message that is delivers. My son, at 6, can now 'handle it.'
Thank you Laurie Wright for writing this precious book and offering an amazing FREE resource for parent to use as well (on the back of the book)!

Highly recommend this book! My son was reciting with confidence the mantra midway through the book during our bedtime read aloud. The final page is quite ingenious and served as the ultimate reinforcement of the mantra. Well done!

I really enjoyed the story, because it had many examples of realistic situations where children know how to manage their emotions, and they are needing to learn how to be the boss of their own feelings. I will share with my students.

This book is terrific! It helped to address some of the issues (big and small) that my children were having (and therefore I was having too...haha) and gave them ideas for solutions. My daughter actually said "hey ma! No biggie! I can handle it!" the other day when we had to miss her cheer due to a change in schedule.

The book identifies different feelings that arise in kids’ daily life (early elementary school age) and then suggests ways to handle the disappointment. Sadness or frustration. Some suggestions are practical some are whimsical and overall the book feels fun and understanding of kids’ frustrations.

This is such a fun book! The message is so important and the illustrations are cute and funny. We love to look closely at them to notice all of the different details the illustrator added. I Can Handle It is a fantastic book to teach kids about so many health-related topics. Kids need to learn that it is okay to feel different emotions when things don't go their way but they also need to learn how to "handle it" by thinking of a variety of positive ways to solve their problems. Your feelings can lead to actions and learning how to deal with these feelings and act positively to solve problems is an important life lesson. This book shows this process and it will help build children's confidence and problem-solving skills. I would highly recommend this book to both parents and teachers It is a gem!

Although I think it's OK to tell kids that they can handle certain things, in most cases, I feel that they should be encouraged to seek help from Mommy, Daddy, or another trusted adult.

Second, I found the book to be boring and repetitive. Children's books should be funny and they should have entertaining illustrations. Ho-hum!! I couldn't picture myself reading this book over and over every night.

This book is entertaining and practical. I gave my copy away to a friend when I found out her son is struggling with anxiety and she didn't know how to help
him. Now I've bought myself another copy and one for another friend. So many kids struggle with how to cope with challenging situations and challenging emotions. This book is a great help! The teacher and parent resources available from Laurie Wright are also very helpful, especially the catchy "I Can Handle It" song. I highly recommend this book for ANYONE with kids.

This book felt like it was written for my family. We have had some struggles with behaviour and big feelings from the little people in the family. When I heard about the book I felt like Laurie had seen my life and wrote it for me.
A must read for both parents and children, I can't wait for the next one! Thank you Laurie Wright for writing this book!❤

Love this book! Engaging, fun, practical! Illustrations are adorable. Reading this leafs to instant conversation with kids which helps them find answers and a way to express themselves. They totally relate to the story!