Taming Sneaky Fears: Leo the Lion's Story of Bravery & Inside Leo's Den: the Workbook

by Dr. Diane Benoit, Dr. Suneeta Monga, Pia Reyes (Illustrator)

Overview

Taming Sneaky Fears starts with Leo the Lion's Story of Bravery. Leo is too shy, nervous, and scared to speak to other animals or his teachers-and he's definitely afraid of his own roar. With his mother's help, Leo learns that change takes patience, practice, and practical tools. Leo overcomes his anxiety by taming his Sneaky Fears, and even uses his newfound skills to help his friend, Ellie the Elephant, challenge her fear of heights and her need to always be perfectly perfect.

The included Inside Leo the Lion's Den: How to Tame Your Sneaky Fears workbook outlines the techniques that helped Leo find his voice and overcome his shyness. These practices were developed by experienced child psychiatrists to help children who suffer intense anxiety, including those who are excessively shy, unable to speak in social situations, or fearful of new experiences and new people.

Taming Sneaky Fears aims to help your young child become more aware of feelings and learn to cope with anxiety through fun, creative, and active exercises.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525518836
Publisher:	FriesenPress
Publication date:	06/07/2018
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.26(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 6 Years

About the Author

Dr. Diane Benoit and Dr. Suneeta Monga are child psychiatrists at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Kids and the University of Toronto. They work with young children to overcome their anxieties while giving their parents the resources to help.

Dr. Benoit's and Dr. Monga's work in developing the "Taming Sneaky Fears" treatment program inspired them to write the children's story and companion workbook, Taming Sneaky Fears. They recognized the lack of current, user-friendly resources and so collaborated to provide instructions on how to cope with anxiety. With more than a decade of feedback from children, parents, and therapists, they refined Leo's story and ensured the activities presented in the workbook can be put into practice by young children.

Editorial Reviews

2018-08-16

A debut guide for children with anxiety problems provides an animal tale and an interactive workbook.

This manual by two child psychiatrists—based on their therapeutic treatment program—has a straightforward design: eight chapters of "Leo the Lion's Story of Bravery" and eight corresponding workbook sections. Leo is nervous about speaking to other animals because he fears that they will make fun of him. With the help of his mother, he uses stress-reducing techniques such as Spaghetti Arms and Toes (progressive muscle relaxation), Balloon Breathing (abdominal breathing), and Imagery. Then, in Bravery Club, he learns about his "Sneaky Fears," portrayed as two snarling, smelly jackals. His teacher explains: "Your worst fears, these wild and scary beasts, need to be tamed." In time, Leo exposes their tactics—telling falsehoods, exaggerating, and showing only bad things—and begins to think courageous thoughts instead. Soon he discovers that he can also employ a "Feeling Thermometer" to recognize and reduce negative emotions. In the final chapters, Leo and his new friend, Ellie the Elephant, practice what they've learned in order to overcome their fears. The workbook precisely matches the clever story and includes application activities like practicing stress-reducing methods, drawing "Sneaky Fears," and deciding what steps to accomplish on the "Bravery Ladder." There are also several invitations to draw "body scans" of how readers feel when experiencing different emotions. Benoit and Monga have done an excellent job of presenting evidence-based, anxiety-reducing techniques in a way that is both creative and comprehensible. They utilize simple language, adequate repetition, and memorable metaphors, making the guide's message crystal clear to young children. The vivid and expressive digital drawings by Reyes (Story Bird Dance and the Snowbird Ballet, 2016, etc.) also aid the audience because they deftly illustrate the tale's plot and emotions. The principles in these pages are universal for anyone battling anxiety, and the workbook allows readers to personalize the story and become "the boss" of their bodies and brains. Parents of children plagued by anxiety should be especially grateful for this volume because of the understanding, tools, and hope that it offers.

An invaluable therapeutic resource aimed at kids.

Kirkus Reviews