Latest Free Mental Health Book Club Titles
Friday 24th January 2020
From Monday 27th January you will be able to opt in for one of two titles from the CWMT Book Club:
'Mud Boy' by Sarah Siggs (Primary)
or 'Teen Substance Use, Mental Health and Body Image' by Ian Macdonald (Secondary)
Mud Boy is a really engaging story about a boy called Sam’s experiences of receiving ‘mud words’ from other children – things they say which hurt him and end up sticking with him. The story helps children think about how words and actions can be hurtful towards others, but more importantly it reinforces the message that these things do happen to others and not just them, that it is OK to ask for help from those around you, and that you can help a friend if you see them being bullied or teased too.
Sarah Siggs takes children through these experiences clearly and sympathetically through Sam’s thoughts and feelings both inside and outside of school, and Amy Crosby’s illustrations help to bring Sam’s world to life, meaning Mud Boy can be used in both class literacy lessons as well as conversations with individual children.
The book has a short ‘top tips’ section at the end written by Dr Pooky Knightsmith, with a raft of great ideas for how to bring the messages from Mud Boy to life and supporting children to develop skills around help-seeking and supporting others.
As this book is aimed at primary school aged children, to be eligible to receive it, you must work with young people in this age group.
Teen substance use, mental health and body image. Written by Ian Macdonald, the Consultant Trainer on the CWMT Schools and Families programme, this book provides a practical resource for schools and youth organisations. It explores the relationship between mental illness and substance use disorders in young people, looking at the concept of risk-taking, as well as how stress, low self-esteem and body image issues can lead to substance use, including performance-enhancing drugs and high caffeine drinks.
The book offers a different approach to supporting young people and implementing preventative measures. It gives practical examples of how to address the issues through Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) sessions, as well as tips for supporting individual pupils.
As this book is aimed at secondary school aged children, to be eligible to receive it, you must work with young people in this age group.
