This is a great kid-friendly exploration of anxiety and ideas for how to manage it. It will give kids validation that they're not alone in feeling anxious or panicky and offer them a useful vocabulary to discuss it. The situations that make young Alex feel anxious, and the strategies he uses to calm himself, are very relatable for young kids. The illustrations are striking and detailed--they complement the text well and will help kids connect to the story. This would be a wonderful classroom resource for pre-K and elementary and would be a great addition to school and classroom libraries.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Wow, I love the fact that a book like this is available for children! Mental health issues like anxiety have been swept under the rug for far too long, and starting to teach kids about it when they are young is a great strategy. In the book, Alex hears his heart go beat, beat, thump when he is feeling anxious about something, whether that is a quiz at school or being nervous to do something new. His coping strategies are discussed, such as tapping his knees or taking breaths and paying attention to his breathing.

Giving children coping strategies in such a safe manner is such an important topic, and I love the way this book discussed it in a way that they can understand,

Thank you to NetGalley and the National Center for Youth Issues, Independent Book Publishers Association for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Beat, Beat, Thump. That’s the sound our heart makes when we’re anxious. And for children, this can be scary. As adults, we sometimes forget that children can experiences these feelings. This book is a great tool for parents to introduce children to anxiety and open the door to conversations around the topic. The illustrations are engaging and the diversity of characters is spot on. I especially enjoyed how the author expresses that our hearts can make the same sounds for other emotions, and addresses how we can help littles manage all these big emotions in age-appropriate ways.

Thank you NetGalley, the National Center for Youth Issues and Allison Edwards for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book to my 6 year old granddaughter. Eleanor has started Kindergarten at a new school and is making new friends. She can be a bit shy and sometimes anxious about new situations and I found this book to be spot on for her! First let me say that we both found the illustrations to be "so colorful" in Eleanor's words. While Eleanor has been taught to take a deep breath or count to 10, Alex is mindful of his heartbeats. A Gentle beating in Alex's heart indicates that he is calm and the situation is normal; when he hears the THUMP he is worried or "stressed out" as Eleanor says.

I think this is a great book for both individual or classroom use. Thank you for sharing this book with me!

Beat, Beat, Thump by Allison Edwards 5/5

Beat, Beat, Thump is book to help children understand anxiety and panic attacks with tools to help when an episode happens. I love, as a parent, when I can find a book that will open the floor to discussion on topics that can be hard to talk about with some. The illustrations are adorable and filled with details. The book is diverse, heartwarming, and helping. I would recommend this book to everyone with littles, it's never too early to start teaching children about all the big emotions we can feel. They need to understand what is happening, why, and what they can do to help them.

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for the ARC.

4.5 Stars
Beat, Beat, Thump is a book for little ones to understand anxiety and learn ways to manage it on their own. Alex first talks about how it feels when he is close to a panic attack and how his thumping heartbeat is so loud in his head. He shows the incidents/ events that cause anxiety in him.
Then, Alex shows how he deals with the increasing heartbeat by focusing on it, taking deep breaths, and noticing the gradual slowing down of the heartbeat. He goes on to show how the beat, beat, thump of his heart is soft and loving when he is safe, happy, and excited.
He thinks about his favorite things and days when he feels anxious and regains control over his anxiety. The techniques explained are simple, easy to practice, and effective for kids to feel in control.
The illustrations are beautiful and heartwarming. They are diverse (even Alex comes from an interracial family), warm, and soothing. The entire book has a soothing effect and ends with a calm assurance that makes kids feel safe and content.
To summarize, Beat, Beat, Thump is an informative and helpful little for children to understand anxiety and learn healthy ways to manage it. The font size is too tiny, though!
I received an ARC from NetGalley, National Center for Youth Issues, and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This a great book for parents to read to young children to open the door for talking about anxiety. As adults we often forget that children can have anxiety and it’s not just because they’re “scared”. The illustrations were awesome and I personally loved the representation that was shown in the characters. This is definitely a book I would plan on buying for my child and recommending to other parents!

This is just the perfect little book for children of all ages as the world is stressful even for our little ones. We follow Alex's journey as he learns how to handle anxiety in a way that will help kids and adults alike. I love the teaching of centering because I feel that is what has helped me the most as an adult with anxiety issues.

I enjoyed reading this book with my children. My 11yo daughter occasionally struggles with anxiety and she liked that this book teaches children how to recognize anxiety and learn how to deal with these feelings. The pictures are beautiful, and I appreciated that the family was multi-racial.

I strongly recommend this book to any parent that wants to teach their child new skills on how to handle the stresses of life.

Beat, Beat, Thump
5 Stars

What a fantastic book!

This cute little book addresses the very big issue of anxiety. Beat, Beat,Thump are the sounds our hearts make when we are excited, nervous or scared. This book does a great job explaining what each emotion feels (calm/anxiety/happiness) and how to interpret them. I think it's fabulous they included a few ways of coping & breathing exercises.

This charming story is well matched with lovely illustrations. They're colorful and bright. I like the artist's use of a more muted color palette, because we're learning something important. Thank you, NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association, for an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I've always thought there needs to be more representation in children's books. This is it. I could've used this as an anxious child. I'm enjoying it as an anxious adult.

I absolutely loved this book and it’s message.

Anxiety is more and more common nowadays and reading this can help kids to process that anxious feeling they get.

It’s an age appropriate way to explain anxiety to elementary school children.

I really enjoyed the illustrations as well.

Written by a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist, Beat, Beat, Thump is about a boy named Alex who is experiencing the beat, beat, thump of his heart during times of stress and anxiety during his day at school. He uses a few method to help cope and slow down his beating heart: focusing on his heartbeat, deep breaths, and positive thinking.

This book would be an excellent resource for a school counselor or parent of a child experiencing anxiety and panic. The illustrations are colorful, yet calming and help set the tone for the book.

The note to parents about anxiety and panic at the end of the book is very helpful and ties everything together.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.