We're on the Planet Tezra Helping Children learn to Manage Their Emotions …
Last summer, while out for a walk, I called my niece, Amber Raymond on a whim. “Hi hon. How would you like to write a children’s book series with me?” Imagine hearing that question! My niece was just about to graduate with her Master of Social Work and as a life-long educator, I thought we’d make a great team. She didn’t hesitate and in no time, we were brainstorming all possibilities. Our goal from the beginning, without question, was to give children the tools they need to problem solve and find positive solutions for everyday situations in life. We both have countless professional and personal experiences which makes this such passionate work for us. Amber did a full Literature Review (posted on the webpage) and our goal was validated.
Ultimately, by developing our children’s book series titled The Power of Thought, we are offering evidence-based approaches where children will learn to understand, handle and express their emotions appropriately while building social skills, empathy, self-awareness, and self-regulation.
Enter Allysa Batin, our talented illustrator. Allysa is a recent graduate of Kennedy Collegiate and is currently attending the University of Windsor. Amber and I were immediately captivated by her creativity and imagination.
With three minds collaborating, our wondrous planet Tezra and the main characters emerged. It has been such fun seeing our vision come to life, in ways we couldn’t even imagine when Amber and I spoke on the phone almost eight months ago. Each book is fun, introduces emotional vocabulary and includes a guide outlining the strategies children can use and adults can model.
Our exceptionally talented illustrator, Allysa Batin created this caricature sketch of our team.
Meet Zirco!
Zirco and their friends Nyx, Carnuli, Azuli, Lazu, are all children who live on the planet Tezra. Their forms are quite different from humans as they are not identifiable by gender and they hover rather than walk. What is most unique is that the children cannot hide their emotions because they haven’t learned to control them yet. Trine and Epsa are adult figures in the book, and we never see their identifying features. Do you see a common theme in the names we chose?
Meet Zirco, the Main Character of the Children’s Book Series, The Power of Thought
How do children learn to manage their emotions when they feel angry, worried, disappointed, surprised, lonely or happy? Each of our books introduces emotional vocabulary in a fun and entertaining way and includes a guide outlining the strategies children can use and adults can model. This series is particularly topical for parents/guardians who want to be proactive or are looking to teach their children how to cope with worry and anxiety. It is also an excellent resource for early years and primary educators and those who provide early intervention to children experiencing mental health challenges.
Our exceptionally talented illustrator, Allysa created the caricature sketches of our team. We thought we’d make things fun and invite you to enter a draw. Allysa will do a caricature sketch of the winner and at the same time, we’ll keep you posted on when our first book, I Have Choices will be launched in the coming weeks.
A shout out to fellow educators Karen Nagy-Tompkins and Megan Simon-Beaudoin for introducing Amber and me to Allysa, an up-and-coming freelance illustrator we are excited to introduce!
