Children’s Fiction for anxious kids

Storytelling and Mindfulness

If your kids feel anxious, teaching children mindfulness skills can help them reduce anxiety.  As parents, carers, or educators, we understand the importance of helping children find their inner calm (especially at bedtime/in school), which is why The Curious Adventures of Robbie and Jess can help.

Storytelling has long been a cherished tradition, engaging children’s imaginations and helping them stay focused. In this children’s book (suitable for ages 7 to 12), each chapter shares a mindful skill to help children find their inner calm and support their resilience.

Why Mindfulness Matters for Kids

Mindfulness and meditation have proven benefits for both adults and children. For younger children, it can support their healthy development by reducing the effects and impact of stress, thereby enhancing focus, reducing anxiety, and promoting emotional well-being.

Keeping children engaged with mindfulness practices works by using their imaginations while they learn mindful skills.

Robbie and Jess: A Magical Duo for Mindful Storytelling

This book, The Curious Adventures of Robbie and Jess, can take your kids on a mystical journey that helps them engage with, and learn, meditation skills.

The founder of Connected Kids (Lorraine Murray) has written this book for children struggling with anxiety, stress or trauma.  She wrote this book after witnessing many trauma-experienced children in her care, (as a foster mum) struggle until she taught them mindful skills.

The main character (Robbie) is a boy in foster care who struggles to belong… until he meets Jess, the black Labrador.  He has struggled to fit in and often finds himself in trouble, until he starts to learn some simple mindful skills, taught by Jess.

Teaching children mindfulness – how to use the book

After you purchase the book, here are some suggestions:

1. If you are using the book as a reading aid: take turns reading out parts of each chapter.
2. Make some time for discussion: After each chapter, discuss what Robbie learned about himself and the new skills he learned from Jess. Ask them how they felt during the story and encourage them to share their thoughts.
3. Lead by Example: Join in on the mindfulness exercises during the chapter. Children often learn best when they see their parents or carers actively participating. 
4. If you are looking to help children learn to read in the classroom: use each chapter as an opportunity to learn a new mindful skill.   We offer a Teach Meditation 101 resource for educators that can help you engage young people in class to learn mindful skills.
5. We now offer recorded meditations to accompany each of the skills provided in the book, you can purchase these here.