Sam Feels Better Now! An Interactive Story for Children (Paperback)

~ (Author), Kevin Collier (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sam saw something awful and scary! Ms. Carol, a special therapist, will show Sam how to feel better. Children can help Sam feel better too by using drawings, play, and storytelling activities. They will be able to identify and manage their own feelings and difficulties in their lives following a traumatic event, crisis, or grief.

Therapists' Acclaim for Sam Feels Better Now

"This beautiful little picture book is the ideal guide for a series of therapy sessions that will focus the child's attention on positives and help to deal with the traumatic memories"
-- Bob Rich, PhD., AnxietyAndDepression-help.com

"Sam Feels Better Now" provides the child and therapist a safe metaphor for exploring trauma issues. The story teaches children that coming to therapy can be a good thing."
--JoAnna White, Ed.D., Professor and Chair Department of Counseling and Psychological Services, Georgia State Univ.

Visit the author online: www.JillOsborne.com

Book #2 in the Growing with Love Series

From Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com

"Redefining what's possible for healing mind and spirit since 2003."

Product Details

• Paperback: 44 pages
• Publisher: Loving Healing Press (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932690603
• ISBN-13: 978-1932690606
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,496,719 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars For The Therapist, August 13, 2009

By	Jane Maritz "winning readings" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sam Feels Better Now! An Interactive Story for Children, written by Jill Osborne and illustrated by Kevin Collier, is meant to help children dealing with traumatic memories. Ms. Carol, a special therapist, walks Sam step by step through identifying and dealing with a scary thing that happened to him.

This book began as a project for a traumatology course that the author took while doing graduate work in professional counseling at Georgia State University.

The book can be used by therapists to help children go through the process with Sam, in a non-threatening way since it is in the third person. It is interactive in that there are pages for the child to draw and identify what happened, how it makes him feel, and how to deal with it. It is recommended for ages 4-10.

The colors and illustrations are appealing; Esmé, my two-year-old, sat through several readings of the book while looking at the pictures. The vocabulary is simple to understand, too. There is not much of a story line or character development to evaluate; it is just a step-by-step description of the therapy process.

There were a couple of minor punctuation and grammatical issues in the book copy I received for review.

I don't feel qualified to evaluate the therapy process described in the book, as I don't have much background in that area.

Overall, this looks like a useful tool for a therapist to use in helping children who have dealt with trauma.

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories for Children Magazine 5 Star Review, October 5, 2008

By	V. S. Grenier "Stories for Children Magazine ... (Ivins, Utah USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Sam Feels Better Now!" is an interactive story for children. The format is very much like a picture book, but this book is geared towards helping children who have experienced trauma, psychological injury, or any form of abuse. The goal of this book is to help assist therapists or other caregivers who help children in these crisis situations. The interactive components such as drawings or story telling help children express the pain and suffering they are in or have been put through. With the story being told through Sam's perspective, the main character, children who read this book will become a part of helping Sam to heal.

The character Sam is described as having gone through a bad experience. However, the problem Sam is trying to deal with is left unsaid. This allows children using this book to either make up a situation for Sam to heal from or place their own crisis on Sam to fix. The story begins with Sam meeting his counselor and getting comfortable with her. The interactive exercises throughout the story help Sam move forward to fix his problem and the child participates by drawing pictures that relate to the story. Sam also gets to talk about his emotions. The story continues with the child helping Sam. There are also exercises to help the child identify their own emotions and to help them get started with telling their own story.

In addition, there is a therapist guide in the back to provide adults background information and suggestions for using "Sam Feels Better Now!"

Jill Osborne's book is an excellent resource for therapists and counselors. The illustrations by Kevin Scott Collier are encouraging with their simple kid friendly style and colorful appeal. I also feel this book would be a good tool in schools and at home because the exercises help to empower children to actively identify their own personal environment and find comfort in expressing themselves and the world around them.

5.0 out of 5 stars A consumable, softcover children's picturebook created especially to help young people, September 6, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Written by professional counselor and child therapist Jill Osborne, Sam Feels Better Now! An Interactive Story for Children is a consumable, softcover children's picturebook created especially to help young people ages 4-10 recover from a traumatic event, or the loss of a loved one. The simple story shows a young boy interacting with a therapist, and prompts a child to draw pictures - a picture of something awful or scary, a picture of people one can love and trust, and colors to express the feelings in different parts of one's body. The final few pages include a therapist's guide to using the book in play therapy, and a brief list of references and resources. Highly recommended as a useful tool for child counselors and professional child therapists.