Can I Tell You About Hope?: A Helpful Introduction For Everyone

Can I Tell You About...?

by Liz Gulliford

Part of a new direction for the 'Can I Tell You About...?' series focusing on values and character education.

72 pages, ebook

Published June 21, 2019

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am new to the series but it appears to cover very important concepts in an accessible way. I felt it was well-written with carefully chosen examples to illustrate its main point: relying on blind luck and ‘positive thinking’ is not hope. Hope is making effort, albeit in small achievable steps, to bring about your goals, and by doing this, you take control of your life. The story, although quite predictable, helps to clarify the concept and make the ideas more memorable.
Overall, I felt the examples were age-appropriate (the target age is 7-13) and would help parents and caregivers approach a potentially difficult topic for discussion.
Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Etienne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Take an easy enough to understand concept, like hope, and make a tons of allegory and metaphor to try to explain it. I don,t see the point, the explication are unnecessary and everything doesn't bring any helpful thinking or comprehension. You end up with conclusion like, good thinking can help you, but you also have to put the effort to achieve something... Yeah that was helpful! Seriously not worth it! Read the definition of hope in a dictionary if you're unsure what it mean and you gonna be alright don't worry!

[Hazel Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A companion volume to books written by Liz Gulliford on forgiveness, courage and gratitude, this book, written for 7+ year olds to read for themselves and/or to read and discuss with adults, explores hope, using everyday situations from a child's life as illustrations and examples for reflection and discussion. Whilst celebrating hope as a psychological strength in many situations, the book guides the reader to think about when hope might not be appropriate, eg when the goal is unattainable, and when hope might even be counterproductive, eg when hope is relied on to the exclusion of hard work!

There is an excellent summary of the key learning points and a set of wide-ranging questions for further consideration, making this book a valuable resource for both individual and group work.