The Book of Me: A children’s journal of self-discovery - Tapa blanda

Acerca del autor

The School of Life is a groundbreaking enterprise which offers good ideas for everyday living. It address such issues as how to find fulfilling work, how to master the art of relationships and how better to understand, and as necessary change, the world – through classes, therapies, books and films. It is headquartered in London, with campuses in Melbourne, Paris, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Belgrade, Antwerp, Seoul, Tel Aviv.

De la contraportada

Daily journal for children aged 9-12 to promote self-knowledge, confidence, happiness and emotional well-being.

Children love to explore, born with a boundless desire to understand the world around them. While most of the outside world has already been mapped, there's a whole other world that has yet to be discovered, one that's accessible only to them: their own minds.

The Book of Me is a guided journal promoting self-discovery in children ages 9 to 14. With beautiful illustrations by Ben Jarvis throughout, the book takes readers on a journey inside themselves, helping them explore their mind, moods, imagination, bodies, and relationships.

Written in a warm and engaging tone, The Book of Me helps kids create a rich and unique self-portrait through fun exercises, including: Keeping a mood diary, writing down what emotion a song makes us feel, making up new words and their definitions, channeling Picasso by drawing an object or person in a new way and using shared knowledge to make friends.

By writing, drawing, cutting out, and coloring in, children can begin to untangle the mysteries of existence and work out who they really are-and who they might become.

Fragmento. © Reproducción autorizada. Todos los derechos reservados.

Play

Young people are especially good at using their imagination. One way they do this isthrough play.

 
Most forms of play involve pretending, or make-believe. We might imagine thatinstead of a small person, we’re actually an international spy, or a murderous pirate. Or that we’re not in our back garden after all, but a tropical jungle, and that the stick we’re holding is really a sword, or a magician’s staff.

What’s your favourite thing to pretend to be?

What’s your favourite place to pretend to go?

Play is exercise for our imagination – just like running is exercise for our bodies. This is why play is just as important as work (despite what some grown-ups might say). It helps us develop our imagination.

Older people aren’t usually as good at using their imagination. It isn’t that imagination gets less powerful as we age, it’s just that most older people don’t make time to play. They think they are too busy, serious and grown-up. But this is a silly thing to think. Adults need to play just as much as children do (which is why it’s a good idea to encourage them to play games and pretend with you).

Why don’t you ask an adult how they would answer these questions?

What do you like to dress up as? Draw it below.

Creativity

When we use our imagination to make something, we are being creative. There are lots of ways of being creative. We might:

Just like playing, being creative helps us exercise our imagination. The more things we create, the more we can train our imagination to grow more powerful.

We can be creative anywhere, though we might find there are some places where we are more creative than others. Some people find they are most creative when they’re in the bath or the shower.

When do you feel most creative?

Where do you feel most creative?

Originality

Sometimes, our imagination can come up with something that has never been thought of before. This is called inventing, or being original.

Can you invent a new animal? Draw one below. You could try to make it out of bits of other animals (like the head of a lion and the body of a snake, for example).

The author Lewis Carroll wrote a poem called ‘Jabberwocky’, which he filled with neologisms – original words that he invented. Here is the first verse:

Can you spot the neologisms? Underline or circle them.

Why don’t you make up some new words? Come up with three new words and write down what they mean.