I’m Stretched by Julia Cook - OPTIONAL

I’m Stretched by Julia Cook, 30 pages. PICTURE BOOK. National Center for Youth Issues, 2019. $10.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE, MS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Between school and family drama and piano lessons and soccer tryouts, Henri is always in a flurry of motion. She’s stretched too thin and moving too fast; Henri knows that she isn’t doing her best in everything, but she also doesn’t know how to fix it! Help!

This is a book with an agenda: teach readers how to handle stress effectively. I love how I could feel the stress and anxiety through the illustrations of the first half of the book and how those feelings were soothed and resolved as Henri’s mom taught both Henri and readers how to work with their stress. This short story is a great tool for proactively teaching stress management.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen