Tag Kelly McKain

The Bravest Word / The Feeling Good Club: Believe in Yourself, Bella!

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The Bravest Word
Kate Foster
Walker Books

A powerful story of trust and love between a boy and a dog that addresses depression in youngsters, it will surely help readers who are struggling to recognise the symptoms in themselves. It will also reassure those readers that they aren’t alone and however confused and scared they might feel, there are ways to cope, so long as they seek help from somebody.

Eleven year old Matt, a soccer star is suddenly beset with thoughts of “I can’t do this” especially when it comes to playing his favourite game and he feels tired all the time. He’s way too scared to talk to his mum who clearly cares but puts his troubles down to hormones, and he won’t say anything to his dad for fear of upsetting him

Then, as he’s out walking with his dad, they come across an abandoned dog that has clearly been very badly treated. Matt is determined to save the creature and decides to call him Cliff after his grandad. He also finds a scrap of paper with the words UGLY, SAD DOG. HE’S YOURS close by. Off they go to the emergency vet and having followed the required procedures, and persuaded Mum, Cliff finally goes to live with the Brown family.

As Matt cares for the newcomer, we see that boy and dog exhibit similar emotions: Cliff recovers physically but remains withdrawn and anxious while Matt remains determined to restore the pooch’s faith in human beings as well as restoring his own zest for life. It’s an arduous slow process, the highs and lows of which Matt shares with his new canine buddy.

In doing so, Matt perceives his own situation with increasing clarity. Bit by bit, the boy begins to open up, sharing, his despair, his sickness, his hopes, through Cliff’s social media presence, which soon becomes viral. There’s enormous on-line support for the dog and by association Matt, from virtual strangers, which finally forces the boy to find the courage to ask for help. “I think I might be depressed,” he tells his Dad. Dad’s response is enormously understanding; he’s clearly proud of his son and feels great empathy towards him. Matt then discovers that he’s not the only person who has problems with their mental health. Then surrounded by love and support, he is allowed to rest and begin to heal.

A hugely important, beautifully written, honest book that shows children they are not alone in their struggles, and that as Matt’s Dad tells his son, asking for help is the bravest thing.

The Feeling Good Club: Believe in Yourself, Bella!
Kelly McCain, illustrated by Jenny Latham
Little Tiger

Bella, Archie and Shazmin are three friends who set up a mindfulness club to help them understand and handle their feelings. This has really boosted Bella’s self-confidence, until the three decide to enter the Muddy Assault Course Challenge in the hope of winning £50, which they intend donating to WaterWorks (a charity). They call themselves Ace Team but they’re one person short. Billy, a rather loud, over-confident boy offers not only to join their team but also to coach them. Training begins in earnest that weekend and after one session Bella wants to pull out of the event.

Things go from bad to terrible when the team hold a training session in Bella’s garden and end up wrecking Mum’s favourite plant pots and making a whacking great hole in Dad’s new fence panel and the only one who doesn’t straightway apologise to Bella’s parents is Billy.
Somehow Bella needs to find the courage to talk with Archie and Shazmin, Billy too, about how she really feels. Can she do so and set Ace Team back on the road to enjoying preparing for and participating in, that challenge?
She’s fortunate to have Jess, her older sister, to discuss everything with; among other things that really helps her get her feelings about Billy out in the open, though as events unfold she ends up with a much greater understanding of why he behaves in ways she doesn’t like and ends up calling him a friend.

This is Bella’s second turn of sharing her diary with readers: I wonder who will be next in this very enjoyable series. Make sure you check out the mindfulness activities at the end of the book.

Sona Sharma: Wish Me Luck / The Feeling Good Club: Be Kind, Shazmin!

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Sona Sharma: Wish Me Luck
Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Jen Khatun
Walker Books

With its Tamil Nadu setting, the Sona Sharma series is one of my very favourites for younger readers. In this fourth story, Sona’s much-loved teacher is getting married and the entire class has been invited. This she learns on the last day before a mid-term break. So far so good, but then Sona sees on the invitation that Miss Rao’s husband to be comes from a place called Vijayawada that’s several hours away by train and by tradition the bride moves to live in her husband’s city. Definitely not good and Sona and her friends want to try and stop this happening so they start making a ‘lucky’ plan to keep Miss Rao as their teacher.

With this in mind, despite her list of things to do during the break, Sona is preoccupied with the possibility of having to bid farewell to her teacher. So. aided and abetted by Elephant, she begins to search for lucky charms . The night when her Amma hears about all of this, her response is, “Fortune favours the brave, Sona. … If you want something, go and make it happen.”

Sona’s way of doing so is to write a petition, get all her friends to sign it, as well as others at the wedding and then after the ceremony, hand it to their teacher. She puts a great deal of effort into this project; but what will be the outcome?

With its theme of embracing change, this enchanting story exudes warmth and family love throughout and as always, Chitra has woven several South Indian Hindu customs into her narrative including some details of the Kanyadaanam ceremony at the wedding

and Paatti’s story about Rudraksha beads, prompted by the seeds Sona’s friend Renu adds to their collection of lucky charms. Whether read aloud or alone, Jen Khatun’s illustrations add to the delights of the book.

The Feeling Good Club: Be Kind, Shazmin!
Kelly McKain, illustrated by Jenny Latham
Little Tiger

‘Sometimes I miss the old Charita so much it actually makes my stomach hurt.’ So writes her younger sister, Shazmin in her journal at the start of this third episode in the series wherein Bella, Archie and Shazmin help one another to face and cope with the things that worry them by means of supportive friendship and mindfulness activities.

Shazmin is upset that her elder sister, Charita, now a teenager, no longer wants to hang out with her. In a desperate attempt to impress Charita, she persuades Bella and Archie to participate in the making of a video with her, but she keeps the real reason for so doing to herself.

The three friends start working on the video but things keep going wrong, there are misunderstandings and squabbles and the project seems to be heading for the scrap heap.


Is there any way that what started out as a potential prize-winning video, can be rescued, even if that means it taking a rather different direction. And can harmonious relations be restored both in Shaman’s family and with her two Feeling Good Club buddies? Perhaps, but it will take some mindfulness by all concerned.

Children’s well-being has really come into focus since covid and Kelly McKain’s series of highly accessible stories with personable characters openly sharing their emotional ups and downs in situations that children can relate to, provides gently humorous, warm much-needed mentoring in book form.

Isadora Moon Under the Sea / The Feeling Good Club: Say How You Feel, Archie!

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Isadora Moon Under the Sea
Harriet Muncaster
Oxford Children’s Books

The endearing little half-vampire, half-fairy, Isadora Moon ’s latest adventure begins when she receives an invitation to a sleepover with her mermaid friends. The prospect of spending the night away from her parents that takes her beneath the sea makes her a bit anxious but having been reassured by her parents, she accepts Marina’s invitation and as the time draws nearer she gets really excited. This excitement continues once she gets to Marina’s home and she finds herself becoming friends with another of the guests, Marina’s step sister Emerald who is rather standoffish and Isadora thinks it could be because she’s unhappy.

Later on, lying in the adjacent clamshell bed, Isadora hears what sounds like Emerald crying and knows she must go and see what’s troubling her.

What she learns results in a late night swim to the home of Emerald’s Dad. (Her parents are separated) and eventually everything is put right.

Beautifully heartwarming, this adventure touches on the subject of living in more than one home and the problems this might lead to for a child; but it’s lightly done and the most important themes are listening to one another, friendship and acceptance.
With its mix of the alluringly different and comfortingly familiar, this magical story is perfect for its intended audience of new solo readers and includes the usual offering of activities at the back of the book.

There are further Isadora things to do in Isadora Moon: Summer Fun Activity Book. Therein are lots of activities based on the world of Isadora and of course, Pink Rabbit.

The Feeling Good Club: Say How You Feel, Archie!
Kelly McCain, illustrated by Jenny Latham
Little Tiger

In this the second in the Feeling Good Club series, it’s Archie’s turn to share his journal with readers. Archie’s family consists of his mum, a marine biologist and so often away for extended periods, his dad who seems to have little or no time for his oldest child what with his work and looking after the six year old twin brothers who are a bit of a handful.

As the journal opens, it’s a Tuesday. Archie is preparing his exhibit for the school Science Fair; it’s on his favourite topic, space, about which he is passionate and he’s really looking forward to Dad hearing his talk about it at the event the following day. But when he fails to turn up Archie is understandably pretty upset; how could he have forgotten? However Archie tries pretending it’s okay, but of course it isn’t and his real feelings come out in a torrent of fury at the next Feeling Good Club meeting as the friends are working on creating a clubhouse. Archie is hugely embarrassed and storms off in a huff.

Clearly this is a time when club members need to help Archie find a way to spend sufficient time with his Dad to talk about the way he is feeling. So begins operation Surprise Camping Trip. There are many ons and offs and it seems the expedition just isn’t going to happen

but eventually Shaman and Bella come up with a plan that turns things upside down and the trip is on again. The three friends practise some of their mindfulness techniques and on Saturday it’s a camping they will go …

To discover more about that camping trip and to learn about the mindfulness activities the clubbers use, you will have to read more of Archie’s journal in a copy of the book. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable exploration of feelings, facing your worries and the importance of sharing how you feel with trusted friends, with smashing illustrations by Jenny Latham.

The Feeling Good Club: Smash Your Worries, Bella / Diary of an Accidental Witch: Ghostly Getaway

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These are two Little Tiger books both written in diary form: thanks to the publisher for sending them for review

The Feeling Good Club: Smash Your Worries Bella!
Kelly McKain, illustrated by Jenny Latham

This is the first of a new series, told through the journal of Bella, a Y5 pupil at Cavendish Juniors. As the book opens she’s feeling particularly down as her best friend Rohisha has just moved and to make matters worse, Bella has a Big Worry: she has to give a talk to her class in a few days. Her parents are trying their best to make her feel better but with no success: how is she going to make it through the next six weeks to the summer holidays when Rosh is coming to stay? Their Zoom calls make her feel worse still; her friend only talks about her new situation leaving Bella no opportunity to get a word in edgeways.

However, after a disastrous presentation to her class, during what’s supposed to be Feeling Good Week, Bella begins to bond with two empathetic classmates, Shazmin and Archie and little by little Bella’s confidence grows and she thinks she might even give that talk another go. Then comes a special Feeling Good session from Kris, a parent who is a mindfulness teacher. This is especially useful in helping Bella feel differently about how she reacts to situations and provides some activities to help cope with worries. After all this Bella, Archie and Shazim decide to form the Feeling Good Club.

Now things are definitely looking up but can Bella find the confidence to let Rohisha know how she feels on those Zoom calls and most important can she finally send those worries packing once and for all?

Kelly McKain’s writing shows clearly how well she understands children and their emotions; Bella’s voice is one teachers and parents will recognise, so real does she sound. Equally readers around Bella’s age will understand exactly how she feels as she faces and comes to terms with the challenges presented in this story. It’s one that celebrates everybody’s uniqueness and the power of friendship. The book ends with some mindfulness activities for children. I look forward to hearing more of Bella and her friends.

Diary of an Accidental Witch: Ghostly Getaway
Perdita & Honor Cargill, illustrated by Katie Saunders

Living in Little Spellshire with her weather scientist dad, Bea Black, through whose third diary we share her latest experiences and thoughts, is just into her second term at witch school. She’s mega-excited about the residential school trip and when it’s announced that their destination is Cadabra Castle in the middle of nowhere, Bea is a tad worried about the possibility that it might be haunted. When they arrive there’s a scramble for rooms and Bea, Amara and Winnie end up in a slightly spooky room with a ginormous four-poster bed big enough for three.

The time table they’re given looks very interesting with challenges, quizzes and picnics one of which is followed by a scavenger hunt. Can they succeed in keeping their magic a secret especially when there’s a group of ‘ordinaries’ out hiking who have a special interest in the possibility of a ruined castle. Another challenge is the team building of a shelter – who will win that?

In the final challenge Bea is paired up with Blair – somebody she doesn’t get on with at all – and that in itself is a challenge. However, Bea’s biggest challenge of all is to stop her Dad from finishing his book about Little Spellshire’s micro climate thus preventing the two of them from moving away from the area and the school she loves so much.

This is another winning witchy tale from team Cargill and Saunders. It’s fuelled by cake – a lot of it, friendship, the need for teamwork and the possibility of a ghost: will they actually discover one? You’ll need to get a copy of the book to find out.