The Best You
For ages 3+
If you are kind, considerate, and have a collaborative mindset, what follows will be success, happiness and a life to love.
Absolutely one of my favourite books of 2024, ‘The Best You’ is now publishing in paperback. I’m delighted to share this review with you, as this is a book I have repeatedly enjoyed using in school book clubs, including in school library orders, and reading to children in my Happy Reading Children’s Bookshop during weekly storytime sessions.
What I love about this particular picture book addressing the age-old question of ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ is that it’s really come at the readers and listeners from the angle of ‘Who’ rather than ‘What’ - a new slant on this theme that feels much more up to date with how parenting and PSHE has changed. Rather than expecting a young child to give a definite answer, causing an element of anxiety in them that they should be thinking about this already, we are talking to them about all the wonderful ways to BE YOU in this world.
Of course the book mentions some pretty awesome professions that many young children naturally tend to gravitate to, e.g. firefighting, medicine, or teaching, and the superb illustrations by Cally Johnson-Isaacs feature children from mixed heritages, with differing skin tones, disabilities and hair types all role playing in different professions or demonstrating through their natural abilities and reactions that they’ve got all the raw ingredients to become wonderful adults once they get into the big wide world, or have to start making choices towards the end of their school-based education years.
Above all, ‘The Best You’ teaches all who read it that if you are kind, considerate, and have a collaborative mindset, what follows will be success, happiness and a life to love.
I’m delighted that author, and founder of Mindful Champs, Nima Patel is celebrating ‘The Best You’ with an event at my bookshop in Broadstairs, Kent during the February half term. I can’t wait to meet her and listen to her inspiration behind the book.
Download the offical book-based teaching guide:
https://littletiger.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/The-Best-You-Teaching-Guide.pdf
About the author
Nima Patel is a psychology graduate, parenting coach, children's author and former primary school teacher, with a family background of over 30 years' experience in early years education. While academic knowledge is crucial, Nima believes developing emotional intelligence equips children with the tools they need to thrive in a complex world and that developing these skills at an early age will instil an empowered sense of self and act as a blueprint for adult life. Combining her two passions in life: self-development and teaching, she has passionately created the brand Mindful Champs, with a mission to bring an emotional education into the lives of children.
Abou the illustrator
Cally Johnson-Isaacs spent many fun-filled years as an in-house artist for Hallmark Cards before going on to pursue her children's book dreams. She has now illustrated nearly 20 picture books and hopes to work on many more! She creates her artwork at her seaside cottage in Northumberland, where daily beach walks with partner Phil and Jasper the chihuahua help to inspire her practice. She has an impressive Instagram (@callyjanestudio) where she enjoys sharing work and news of her latest books.
Published: 6th February 2025
Format: Paperback
[Ad-review copy sent to me by the publisher]
