I Can Handle It (Mindful Mantras Book 1)

This book is awesome for parents to read with their kids and has potential for more stories like it! It’s best read slowly and with discussion in between each situation because there is so much that can come from each one. The little boy thinks up different ways to “handle” a variety of emotions and situations, some over the top which can cause a giggle if the child gets that it’s a silly possibility. almost 5-yr old daughter immediately put the “I can handle it” mantra to use as she dealt with grasshoppers that scared her on the way to school. And I catch her saying “I can handle it” now and then. :) I wish it didn’t say the was “miserable” going to bed as we already have a rough time with bedtime but it didn’t really seem to phase her. I hope the author will do another version of the book focused on 4-6 graders that talks about peer pressure and bigger decisions like saying no to alcohol, drugs, etc.

This book is wonderful! It's perfect for children who have intense emotional reactions to problems. I love the phrase "I can handle it" as a mantra to encourage kids to think about their options before reacting. The author uses humor and playfulness to address the catastrophic thinking of some children ("I could stay in my bed till I'm 80") before giving some more realistic options. I've seen other reviews about this book where parents are upset about the phrase "I could cry myself to sleep". Well the fact is, that is an option. However, it's one of several options and this book gives parents a chance to talk about that (sometimes having a good cry makes us feel better, however crying all night probably doesn't make our bodies feel good, what are some other good options for how to solve our problem or for what we need in that moment). I regularly recommend this book to the families I work with. The illustrations and simple concepts appeal to kids of a wide age-range (4-10).

“Mindful Mantras: I can Handle It!” is an amazing picture book written by Laurie Wright and beautifully Illustrated by Ana Santos. It’s a great picture book for social emotional discussions about emotions and examples of positive actions the reader could use when feeling these emotions. I highly recommend “ Mindful Mantras: I Can Handle It!”🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My 6 year-old son has high-functioning autism, and one of his biggest hurdles is handling negative emotions. I bought this book on a whim, hoping it would be appropriate for him in particular, and it came at a good time because he happened to hit someone at school for the first time that week. This is not a book he wants to read all the time - he's pretty astute and knows it's a book that is meant to be a teaching tool, but he does ask for it from time to time. At the end of the book there is a section for your child to write their name: "My name is ____, and I can handle ANYTHING." My son has a little trouble accepting this statement, and says "Nobody can handle EVERYTHING, Mommy." To be fair, he is right. I know most kids will not require such psychological accuracy from their books though, so it's probably just my kid that rejects this particular part of the lesson, but I'm just putting it out there that for him, this raises a little anxiety. To echo a few other parents, it is a little strange that the "formula" of the pages don't always make sense, i.e. it presents a problem ("I'm frustrated when adults don't listen. Can I handle it?") then it offers three possible solutions followed by the mantra (in this case: "I can say excuse me. I can write a letter. I can tell someone else. I can handle it."). This is fine, but after establishing this formula, a few of the "solutions" are obviously not what a child should or would do, like "move away from her (from home)" in response to "I'm mad when my sister won't stop bugging me", or "I guess I can cry myself to sleep" in response to "I'm miserable when it's bedtime". We got around this by making it a game - after each of these out-of-character "solutions" we'd raise an eyebrow and say, "Hmmmm...is THAT a good option?", making it sound as though obviously it wasn't, and he'd smile and say NO. But I'm not sure you should have to do that, especially with a child that has more trouble catching on to the fact that some of these buck the established formula. I read a few reviews complaining about this and thought, oh that's silly, but it really is a little strange because it isn't consistent. If there was one silly option in EACH scenario that would make more sense. Still, the benefits have outweighed the weird, so I'm still glad we bought it. I deducted one star for this and because the quality of the book doesn't really justify its price. It has pretty flimsy binding with cheap paper, like a children's book you might find in a bin in the middle of the supermarket, and really worth only about $5.

I bought this for my 6-year-old who is easily overwhelmed and frustrated and I think this book is fantastic. It's a fun way to look at different scenarios where they may get upset or sad or angry, etc. and things they can do to handle it. At the end it has them say or write in their own name on a page that says, "My name is ________ and I can handle anything." My girls love saying this at the end of the book. They also loved telling me if the solutions he has to the problems in the book are silly or serious. I would highly recommend this if your child is easily frustrated. I read comments from a couple people about this book possibly being a trigger for kids who have experienced trauma, but this doesn't discuss anything traumatic like losing a loved one or being hurt. It's just normal, everyday, kid stuff that can overwhelm some. Now when my daughter gets frustrated, I can ask her if she can handle it and we think of ways to deal with the situation without throwing a fit.

I love this well written Laurie Wright book. Young children, as well as older children should like these coping skills book. When adults are not around and when kids will not say what is wrong they need something to do to get them through, I Can Handle It, is a great book for this time. Sebastian is sad because his best friend made him mad. He gave a hug and Then tried to make him laugh and then he drew a picture. He is not sad any more, I Can Handle It. He is frustrated when adults don't listen to him sometimes. He tried saying, Excuse me. He writes a letter. Then he told someone else. I can handle it. What does he do when he is upset or discouraged? You will need a photo of your young one or a pencil or crayon for the back of the book. Wonder why? Your will have to look and read to find out. I can handle that.

Great book! I work in a large federally-funded preschool program. I was so impressed with the content of this book that I wrote our Education Director about it. This book demonstrates the use of excellent varied vocabulary for encouraging young children to express their feelings, and talk about their ability to conquer life’s challenges. My Director ended up ordering a copy of this book for every classroom in our early childhood program. I also heard from one of the managers that the management team enjoyed reading it together at one of their staff meetings!

This is a pretty good book. It's a simple book designed for pretty young kids (I'd say pre-school). It can be a bit vague on the "problem" side of each page, but that's probably best for little kids. Additionally, some of the "solutions"/how to "handle" things aren't exactly realistic. Other reviewers have mentioned not liking the page that suggests that kids can cry themselves to sleep when they are upset. I agree, that isn't the best option to present. There are many other options, so why even suggest that? We treated that line as a joke and read it as if the author was making a silly suggestion. At the end of that page, we decided that she could have added getting a hug instead. The book does offer some good problem/solution scenarios, but there are better book options out there.