Book Review
A short overview of this book
Your Mind Matters: Your Emotions by Honor Head is one of the few books available for tweens about feelings.
Positive emotions can make you feel that the world is a wonderful place, but feeling sad, angry and hopeless can make you think the opposite is true. As you get older you’ll learn how different experiences affect you and you’ll become more skilled in managing negative emotions and expressing your feelings.
This book will help tweens to understand their emotions so that they can make good decisions that will shape their behaviour and allow them to build strong relationships with the people around them. The book includes quick hints and tips for improving emotional health.
You can learn more on this page, about how to talk to kids about sex education.
Ideal Age
Ideal for children aged 8 to 13 years.
Buy this book
✅ Buy a copy of Your Mind Matters: Your Emotions by Honor Head from Amazon.
Video Transcription
A transcription in case you are more of a reader than a listener
Hey there! I’m Cath Hak, and welcome to Sex Ed Rescue. On my YouTube channel, I review tons of books and create videos to help you talk to your kids about sex. You’ll find a wide range of topics covered in the books I review, like love, relationships, puberty, consent, and of course, feelings. If you’re looking for resources to make those conversations easier, head over to my website where you’ll find loads of helpful tools.
Today, I want to talk about a book called Your Mind Matters by Honor Head. It’s part of a series, and this particular one focuses on emotions. I was really excited to find this book because it’s not often that you come across books for older kids that specifically address their feelings. I stumbled upon it at our local library while taking my son on our weekly library trip. By the way, we always make a pit stop for some delicious Korean fried chicken on the way back. It’s our little tradition!
Now, let’s dive into the book itself. It’s designed for kids aged eight to twelve and is visually appealing with lots of pictures to break up the text. It starts by explaining what emotions are and how they can change as kids go through puberty. It also touches on how our moods can affect us and our behavior. One important aspect the book covers is how our bodies give us warning signals. Paying attention to these signals can help kids feel safer and make better choices. I can personally vouch for the power of listening to my own body’s warnings, as it has kept me out of potentially risky situations.
The book goes on to explore different emotions like sadness, happiness, and anger. It’s important to note that these books are quite conservative and don’t delve into sexual topics. I guess they assume that parents might not buy them if they did. However, I think it’s great that high schools have more open discussions about sex and provide books that cover those topics. But hey, this book still does a fantastic job of discussing relationships, both romantic and friendships. It even touches on the mixed emotions that can come with them.
As always, there are some helpful notes for parents at the back of the book. Overall, I think it’s a great little resource. You can either hand it to your kids and hope they read it on their own, or you can sit down and read it together, especially if they’re still open to that. My eleven-year-old son and I have been reading the illustrated Harry Potter books together, but since we’ve finished the fourth one and the fifth one isn’t illustrated yet, I’m thinking of suggesting we start reading this book instead. Sometimes, you just have to try different strategies to find a book that your kids will enjoy.
So, that’s my take on this book. It’s one of the few out there that focuses on feelings for older kids, and I really liked it. It covers a lot of ground and is a great resource for kids as they grow up. Give it a shot and see how it resonates with your child. Cheers!
