I really enjoyed this book as an adult! It has great techniques to teach children how to deal with their emotions and feelings. It really helped me be able to settle my mind and find some time for peace and brought me down from some anxiety moments.
I think this will make a great addition to library collections and a good recommendation to families who need help with their feelings and emotions.

I was originally interested in this book for my brother, who is outgoing around family and close friends but suffers anxiety and depression from school. I wanted another form of affirmation that it is ok to feel the way he does and provide techniques to process and deal with his emotions. I quickly realized after reading the description of this book I knew it could provide opportunities to utilize some of the tools and techniques in my own classroom with college students, this book seemed useful on both fronts. I can happily say I walked away with new perspective and great talking points for my brother and my classroom.

I have the unique opportunity to educate and mentor both ends of the spectrum, the quiet introverts of STEM and the extroverted profit minded MBAs. Mindful self expression is important in both areas. For the extroverts: to remember there are quiet folks in the room and their opinions should not go unheard and they should be encouraged to speak up. For the introverts: to understand it is ok to speak up and they bring valuable knowledge and ideas to the table of any discussion. Group Think is a major topic regardless of curriculum and being a professor of practice, in my own career.

This book is a great overview for both ends of the spectrum and everyone in between. I found the book to be useful for empowering introverts to speak up and be more assertive, to feel comfortable with expressing themselves and their needs. I also think it slows the roll of the most assertive and overbearing corporate blockbusters. We read Thinking Fast and Slow in the workplace and grad school - the same introductory level concepts are presented quite nicely in this quick read.

“Asking for help makes you powerful.” Wow! What a great way to present inclusive mindfulness to my extroverts and apply to the classroom material. For my deep thinking introverts, a few immediate lessons come to mind from the book - What Makes Me Unique, Connecting With Others, and the other side of “asking for help makes you powerful” is the prefer to this statement: Do I Feel Safe. This is important to both sides, for extroverts to be mindful to create a safe space that quieter or more timid or thoughtful thinkers feel that bring value to the conversation and can speak up despite sharing a dissenting view, or feeling comfortable 20 minutes later after the discussion has moved to other topics to speak up say they have something to contribute to an earlier topic. Within STEM i am one of the extroverts. Many are surprised to learn I am actually a very well adapted “introverted extrovert” in other words I like my quiet and solitude. I read several books a week, prefer quiet time to think and reflect, but at the same time in social situations I can speak up, motivate others while remaining mindful and inclusive of everyone.

This book is great for children and adults newly introduced to mindfulness for practicing self care and remaining mindful of others in creating a safe space and inclusive environment, to give introverts confidence, and remind outgoing people to slow down and allow others to catch up. For children this is a wholehearted reminder that we all have value and it is ok to feel how we do. In our own self expression and acknowledgement of our feelings we can overcome the emotion to behave outwardly in a way that benefits the group and ourselves. I am thrilled to see that this topic is developing in the young adult genre, how I would have loved to have this level of reassurance and guidance as middle and high schooler enduring the rigors and everyday stress of unfortunate encounters with peers as they struggled to overcome their own insecurities, and in failing, succumbed to their internal feelings in acting out against others.

This is a powerful book that every older child/early teen should read. It is a perfect guide to emotional health and well-being. In fact, I’m 63 and I found the suggestions and activities very helpful reminders. I especially liked the “four fingers breathing exercise.” I had never heard of it before and I will be using it! I’m going to give this book to our older grandchildren as soon as it is published..

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I read Just Feel with our 9-year-old son and it was the perfect and relatable book for the pre-teen age group. The writing was approachable and Chopra used language that connected with her target audience. We loved the mindfulness activities and there were so many great ideas that he could easily incorporate into his life right away.

I also appreciated that she incorporated relatable scenarios that were interspersed within the different topics of the book. This made the book very readable and also proved to be a great conversation starter for our family. Highly recommend!

Mallika Chopra's new book, "Just Feel" is an amazing book for young kids with an understanding about their feelings to be able to KNOW, CHOOSE, and ACT.

Ms. Chopra's book teaches children to know how they feel, to know what they like, to know how to deal with their feelings, especially when they have mood swings. It teaches kids to know what they can control in themselves. There are exercises to teach kids to take a deeper look into the world around them. It helps kids to examine safety and whether they feel safe both physically and emotionally. It teaches kids to learn about their body and listening to it and how they can take care of their bodies.

In the second section of the book, Ms. Chopra focuses on "choose." It starts with taking responsibility for what is their responsibility. Taking responsibility for their feelings and their words. It describes feeling empathy for others. It talks about saying sorry to others when you have made a mistake or hurt someone as well as forgiving those who hurt them. It discusses choosing friends and the people that the child wants to be with and be around.

The final section of this book covers actions. There is a section on yoga and breathing. There is also a section on what the child needs to take responsibility for today. The final section really builds on all of the topics covered in the first two sections and asks the child to start putting what they've learned into practice. This section teaches children to create a schedule, to write out their feelings in a journal and to draw, paint or sketch those feelings.

This is an exceptional book written for children that is different than anything else I've ever seen. There is so much here with so much potential for kids to live fuller, more self-aware lives that will propel them to future success. I fully recommend it to all parents with kids between the ages of 6 and 14. This is an amazing resource!

I received this as an eBook from Perseus Books / Running Press Kids via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review of the title. I did not receive any compensation from either company. The opinions expressed herein are completely my own.