As a teacher, Leanne Brown has seen first-hand not only how childhood mental health has reached epidemic levels, but how the conversation with youngsters about their mental wellbeing often never takes place.
Also boundlessly creative, Brown has recently released the first volume in her new ‘Monster Mountain’ children’s book series. The series was written to not only share fun and adventurous stories, but to help children recognize mental health issues, understand them, and go out into the world with gusto.
Synopsis for ‘Daniel’s Dream: Monster Mountain’:
Daniel is a young boy from a ‘normal’ family. He is shy, quiet and worries about things in life. Unlike his sister Darcie, who is outgoing, loud, and confident. Daniel loves bedtime because his imagination, through his dreams, takes him on adventures, where he meets new people and visits new places. His journeys are always something he enjoys. One night, a monster appears in his bedroom, who takes him on an adventure to Monster Mountain. Daniel has always thought monsters were scary, but tonight he learns that they are just like humans; they have feelings and they too worry about things in their lives. When Daniel arrives in Monster Mountain, he is over awed by how beautiful and unique it is. Dex introduces Daniel to his monster friends. Daniel quickly notices that each monster is individual and unique. Whilst at Monster Mountain, Daniel helps one of the monsters, Shelley, who is really struggling with anxiety. This is something Daniel relates to as he too is worrying about something at school. Daniel teaches Shelley different ways to cope with her anxiety. He, too, must use these skills to get over his own worries about school. Can he overcome his worries and apply the strategies to cope?
“Each book is going to see Daniel return to Monster Mountain, where he’ll encounter and learn about a different mental health issue such as depression, grief, PTSD, anxiety, bullying, OCD and ADHD,” explains the author. “Mental health is a tough issue to discuss with children, chiefly because nobody can “see” you suffering. I want children to understand that suffering from a mental health condition doesn’t make them weak or unworthy. Quite the opposite – I want them to embrace their strength, drive and tenacity. These stories will help immensely.”
Continuing, “My goal is to help youngsters see that mental and physical health are equal, and there’s of course no blame with either. Fiction is a wonderful playground through which to share these vital messages, and the stories of the monsters will make the subject matter funny, assessable and endlessly fun. I’m so proud to be fighting for such an important cause, and can’t wait to see how far I can take these books.”
‘Daniel’s Dream: Monster Mountain’ is released on 11th January.
Daniel’s Dream in paperback and audio book are available to order on Amazon and from the author's personal website www.dreambelieveread.
The Resource pack is available in print and digitally from the author's website www.dreambelieveread.
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