Five Book Worm Review of Love, Hugs, and Hope

Here's a link to the five book worm review of Love, Hugs, and Hope

http://thiskidreviewsbooks.com/2013/12/23/love-hugs-and-hope-when-scary-things-happen-by-christy-monson/

Why I liked this book– This book is a necessity in every household. I think kids have to deal with bad things all the time. Maybe not as big as the school shootings, but a lot of other things in their lives, like being in a car accident, or a relative dying. This book can help. The story has a great feeling to it – a warm, calming, friendly – but serious – feeling. It is told in a very simple way, but I think it tells a big story. The illustrations are cartoon-like and make it easier to understand the story. The animals mixed in make it cute. I think the story will also help parents and teachers talk to kids about bad things that happen. I believe this is a book that every family will have use of in their house.

Activities and Resources- Talk. Talk about the book, about the event that happened 1 year ago, about anything that gives you and/or your child negative feelings (anger, sadness, fear, etc.).

Thanks, Eric.

Book Giveaway for Schools and Libraries

Love, Hugs, and Hope Book Giveaway. December 2013. 

Yesterday I received a partial shipment of damaged books in the mail. The few books that did arrive have partially torn covers, and some have dented spines. They cannot be sold, so I will donate these books to schools and libraries.

Anyone interested in having a signed copy of Love, Hugs, and Hope for their school or library, leave me a comment. 

This is a great reference book to help children deal with their feelings when problems arise.


"Love, Hugs, and Hope: When Scary Things Happen" is a special understanding kind of book that aims to help children find safe ways to express their feelings when bad things happen." MIdwest Book Review

This would be a great holiday donation.

Book Launch for Love, Hugs, and Hope

Lori Nawyn and I had a wonderful book launch yesterday for Love, Hugs, and Hope. We met at the North Ogden Cannery Boutique in North Ogden, Utah and had a wonderful time. The employees of the boutique were decorating for Christmas and outside the snow was falling, making it feel like Christmas. All in all it was a wonderful time. We sold quite a few books with the promise of more sales to come.

Thanks to all who came to support us.

Lori Nawyn, artist, Christy Monson, author

Book Trailer for Love, Hugs, and Hope

A New Book Trailer for Love, Hugs, and Hope




Enjoy!

An Excellent Tool for Parents, Teachers and Therapists

"Love, Hugs, and Hope"

Lynn Parson's says, "We live in a world where tragedy touches us all. It is especially difficult to explain the unexplainable to children when you don't know what to do.

"This book is the perfect tool to prompt conversations and provide coping strategies with the youngsters you love. An excellent tool for parents, teachers, and therapists. I regret that many little ones have to deal the harsh realities of 2013, but am glad that this resource is now available. I intend to get copies to keep for emergencies, and I recommend you do, too."

Written after the tragic Newtown, Connecticut, shooting, this book is an invaluable tool to help parents and children work through feelings after a tragedy. Our kids deal, not only with national tragedies, but every day ones like death of a grandparent, loss of a puppy, or divorce. This book guides readers through emotions of fear, sadness and anger, then offers constructive ideas for managing these feelings and seeking comfort. The message of the book is that love chases away hate and light banishes darkness. Lori Nawyn's engaging illustrations help the reader know that hope is only a hug away.

Sharing with Grandparents Can Demolish Fears

One way to help children through tragedy is to allow them to spend time with their grandparents--giving service if possible.

Alisa had become increasingly afraid after watching current news events about school shootings, tornadoes in the Midwest, mall bombs and shootings. Her mother tried to shield her from such events, but Alisa had friends at school who warned her about all of them.

Alisa and her mom visited her grandmother in a retirement center every Monday afternoon. Mother suggested Alisa tell her grandmother about her fears.

Grandmother held Alisa's hand and listened carefully to her worries. Then grandmother told Alisa that  

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” (Corrie ten Boom) 

Grandmother also told Alisa that love wins out over hate and cuddled her close.

Alisa felt better after telling her grandmother her troubles. She tried to keep her days happy and strong. Each week she and her grandmother talked about how Alisa felt and soon she let go of many of her fears.

Alisa brought a book to read to her grandmother. She drew pictures to share, and they played Old Maid and Go Fish. 

Others at the center came to join in the fun. Soon many of the residents looked forward to their coming. After each visit, Alisa felt happy. She still worried a little, but when she thought of her grandmother, her fears seemed to melt away.

Alisa looked forward to sharing her books and games, and felt a sense of accomplishment in doing so. She also loved talking to her new friends. She could share her troubles with them because they always had time to listen.

Do you have a grandparent or an older friend you could share with?

Try it and let me know how it goes. What advice did they give you?

I found this book to be quite charming.

Braden Bell says, "We lived in Brooklyn during the 9-11 attack, and as we tried to talk to our young children about that, this book would have come in handy."

"Written for children when bad things happen, I found this book to be quite charming."

"The text is simple and understandable. It is clear and hopeful, but avoids making promises that no one can realistically make. At the same time, it doesn't dwell on gloom either. I think they did a good job walking that balance. The illustrations were also lovely--charming and child-friendly without being silly or cliche.

"Christy, who is a certified Marriage and Family Therapist explained her impetus for writing the book:  "It took me about a week to write the first draft of this manuscript. I felt so sad for those who had experienced loss in the school shooting at Sandy Hook. Shortly after that a gunman shot up the Clackamas Towne Center in Oregon. Our daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters live about three miles from the center. The parents monitored the events carefully, but turned off all media to protect the kids from knowing about it. However, the next day at school the children were all talking about it, so you can't protect children from knowing about tragedies like this."

Love, Hugs, and Hope, A Must Read for Kids

 Loressa Curious Wisdom gives her thoughts on Love, Hugs, and Hope
"A must have in my opinion."

She continues, "This wonderfully written and expressive book allows the child to understand that the range of emotions they feel when dealing with tragedy.... are OK! Normal feelings that everyone feels when confronted by loss! Inspired, written, and illustrated for the children of Sandy Hook. Love, Hugs, and Hope is truly a treasure! A must own for every child in your life. Unfortunately we never can be prepared for the untimely misfortune of tragedy, but we can....step by step, little by little, introduce our children to the feelings they will feel!

  "This wonderfully written and expressive book allows the child to understand that the range of emotions they feel when dealing with tragedy.... are OK! Normal feelings that everyone feels when confronted by loss! Inspired, written, and illustrated for the children of Sandy Hook. Love, Hugs, and Hope is truly a treasure! A must own for every child in your life. Unfortunately we never can be prepared for the untimely misfortune of tragedy, but we can....step by step, little by little, introduce our children to the feelings they will feel!

"Equally impressive are the lessons of Hope expressed in this book! Encouraging young readers to find creative and constructive ways to express their feelings! I found this especially important!  As adults we know that it is essential that we get our emotions out to deal with, rather than hide them inside waiting for the inopportune moment that they burst! Although personally not affected by Sandy Hook. My young children found peace in the knowledge of this fine read! 

"Tragedy in the eyes of a child can be a myriad of situations! Divorce, death, world tragedy, and so many other challenging situations! The messages in this book can be applied and of comfort for any child dealing with difficulty!

    " A must have in my opinion! You may purchase Love, Hugs, and Hope as an ebook! The print edition will be coming later this year! Please visit Amazon, Good Reads, or Powell Books to get your copy today!"

Diane Tolley's review of Love, Hugs, and Hope

"What do you do when scary things happen? Do you hide? Fight? Scream? What if you’re a child? 

Now there is a beautiful new book by Christy Monson and Lori Nawyn that addresses this issue.

With bright, colorful pictures by Nawyn and simple, engaging text by Monson, Love, Hugs and Hope: When Scary Things Happen, is a blueprint of what to do when you’re little. And frightened by something terrifying.

In a world increasingly shattered by violence, mistrust and hatred, Love, Hugs and Hope is a bright little spot of warmth. A much-needed resource; its easy-to-follow, sympathetic advice and charming pictures will make it a go-to book for generations." --Diane Tolley

Love, Hugs, and Hope Blog Tour

Love, Hugs and Hope

Written after the tragic Newtown, Connecticut, shooting, this book is an invaluable tool to help  children work through feelings after a tragedy. Our kids deal, not only with national tragedies, but every day ones like death of a grandparent, loss of a puppy, or divorce. This book guides readers through emotions of fear, sadness and anger, then offers constructive ideas for managing these feelings. The message of the book is that love chases away hate and light banishes darkness. Lori Nawyn's engaging illustrations help the reader know that hope is only a hug away.

Midwest Books reviews the book as follows: "Love, Hugs, and Hope: When Scary Things Happen" is a special understanding kind of book that aims to help children find safe ways to express their feelings when bad things happen. A beautiful two part message is embedded at the core of this lovely book, with perfectly balanced text and illustration. It proclaims: "Love chases away hate (on a valentine held by a penguin) and light chases away the dark (with a lit candle held by a duck in the darkness with stars)." Further pages tell children to cuddle up close with the adults who love them and hug them to help chase away the fear and sadness. "Love, Hugs, and Hope" is available in jacketed hardcover, Kindle, Nook, iPad, and ePub Midwestbookreview.com

The book is available at:

Amazon

 Familius 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Journal is a Record

 Every day you do lots of fun things. It's good to keep a record of your activities and interests. Keeping a diary will help you remember good times as you grow up. It will be great for you to have a memory book of  the things you loved to do. Keep a journal.

Let's brainstorm some of the ways we can keep a record.

I'll list the ones I can think of and then I'd love to have you write to me and tell me more ways you can think of. Write me at

http://www.christymonson.com/

We keep a record by:

Writing words on a paper is only one of the ways.

            What about making a map

            Or a mystery puzzle

            Or a word search

            Or scrambled letters

            Or doodles

            Now you think of some.

Drawing

            You can use pencils you write with every day

            Or you can use colored pencils

            Or markers

            Or crayons

            Or a stick in the sand

            Or white chalk

            Or colored chalk

            Or the computer or ipad or other electronic device

            I'm sure you can come up with other ways to draw

Painting

            I love water colors because they look so soft

            Tempera paints           

            Oils

            You can paint with silly things like cherries. Their rich red color is beautiful.

            Blackberries would make a dark inky color.

            Can you think of other fruits or vegetables?

            Think of other paints.

Do you like to write stories? How about writing, drawing, or painting a story in one or several of the ways listed above. Better still, think up your own way to record your ideas.

Well, keeping a record, or a journal, can be done in lots of different ways. Over the next few weeks, we'll explore some more ways. Let's hear your ideas, and I'll include them (with your first name if you wish).

Some people have said that keeping a record for your children and grandchildren will be more precious than gold to them. Do you believe that? I do.

Happy journaling. Keep in touch. Christy

           

Great Review

Here's the review the book got from Midwest Book Review

"Love, Hugs, and Hope: When Scary Things Happen" is a special understanding kind of book that aims to help children find safe ways to express their feelings when bad things happen. Inspired by the tragedy of Sandy Hook, December 14, 2012, "Love, Hugs and Hope" uses beautiful colored graphic designs, optimistic pictures, and clearly written messages to give children permission to have their feelings, express them, and work through to find and build a sense of security once more.

 "Love, Hugs, and Hope" is all about validation of feelings, especially scary feelings. A beautiful two part message is embedded at the core of this lovely book, with perfectly balanced text and illustration. It proclaims: "Love chases away hate (on a valentine held by a penguin) and light chases away the dark (with a lit candle held by a duck in the darkness with stars)."

 Further pages tell children to cuddle up close with the adults who love them and hug them to help chase away the fear and sadness. "Love, Hugs, and Hope" is a beautiful and useful memorial to a tragic event, conveying a healing message of caring and hope. 

"Love, Hugs, and Hope" is available in jacketed hardcover, Kindle, Nook, iPad, and ePub.

You can preorder now. The book will be in stores September 1, 2013.