HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: The Mouse, the Monster and Me: Assertiveness for Young People
Author: Pat Palmer, Ed. D.
Illustrator: Betty L. Shondeck
Publisher: Uplift Press, new edition 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-9622834-3-7
Related websites: www.drpatpalmer.com (author), www.upliftpress.com (publisher)
Language level: 1 (nothing objectionable)
Reading Level: Ages 8 and up
Rating: 5 stars (EXCELLENT)
Reviewed by Wayne Walker
For more information e-mail homeschoolbookreview@gmail.com
Palmer, Pat, Ed. D. The Mouse, the Monster and Me: Assertiveness for Young People (new edition published in 2009 by Uplift Press). Young people need to have a positive self-image. Dr. Pat Palmer, clinical psychologist and author of many books for children, teens, and adults, offers them compassionate, positive ways to handle and express feelings and to be assertive and confident. The engaging artwork and hand lettering by Betty L. Shondeck illustrate passive "mouse" and aggressive "monster" behaviors so that children can identify these characteristics in themselves and others and focus on finding a balance between them. Out of print for ten years, The Mouse, the Monster and Me, has been updated with the help of Pat’s long time friend, Louise Hart, Ed. D, and is scheduled for republication in January, 2010.
The book helps students understand, manage, and talk about their feelings, thus contributing to their social and emotional well-being. Various fun activities encourage them to work at developing healthy and safe relationships with themselves and others. Topics of discussion include your strength and power, your rights and responsibilities, asking for what you want, saying "No," how to handle both criticism and compliments, and the importance of being yourself. The goal is to give youngsters the tools to stop attracting bullies and stop bullying others and to be responsible for their own feelings, words, and actions by teaching them non-violent problem-solving skills that are vital in today’s society.
