This is the story of a boy dealing with the challenges of a changing world. Though specific to COVID-19, this tale can be applied to life in general. Due to a couple of potentially scary situations related to mental health and a nightmare, this book may not be appropriate for children under eight years old.
We get to see life from the point of view of a 10-year-old boy and how he sees the changes in his life as Mortimer deals with parental job loss, changes at school and with friends, and the consequences of his own choices. Though most of us won’t be faced with all these challenges at once, we see how Mortimer and his family deal with these changes and all the emotions involved.
At the back of the story are several pages of questions parents, teachers or therapists can choose from, as applicable to their specific setting, that may encourage conversations about hard things or feelings youth might be dealing with.
Mortimer is a great book to read in classrooms to help teach kids a better way to face life. Included in the story are a couple of techniques for calming down or dealing with stressful life situations.
It can teach us how to look at life’s challenging situations in positive ways, how working together helps us through hard times, and how important it is to talk to someone we trust about how we’re feeling. Having conversations with our children about their emotions, their thoughts, and understandings can be insightful to adults who may believe that because children are resilient that they aren’t also negatively impacted by their experiences.