Brave Kids: Short Stories to Inspire Our Future World-Changers by K.J. Kaschula
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars

Brave Kids: Short Stories to Inspire Our Future World Changers is an anthology of 24 short stories by 24 healer, teacher, authors- who all provide messages, lessons, tools, and wisdom about understanding bravery while providing inspiration, tools, and coping mechanisms to help face life’s challenges.
Everything from coping with stress, to finding your inner peace, discovering the superhero within, healing, finding courage to face tough times, how to cope with sensory overload, choices, strategies, understanding bravery in all its many forms, challenges thinking patterns, thought provoking ideas, some ‘new-age’ spirituality, connecting with and dealing with your emotions, mental health tools, movement therapy, hope, kindness, love in action, seeing your own inner light, holistic ideas, empowerment, leading purpose-filled lives, compassion, and developing positivity in all you do- gives the reader plenty to ponder and implement into their lives.

The Anthology contains:

–Tonight is the Night By: K.J. KaSchula
A cute story all about preparing to sleep alone in your own bed for the very first time. Teddy and Cheetah help the transition go more smoothly.

–Sundance: The Survival Story of an Orphaned Wild Horse By: Susan Thompson
Sundance the foal is captured, along with several other orphaned foals, and put into a trailer for a scary trip as they’re not too sure where they will end up. Lots of foals are missing their mothers, and Sundance does his part to ease their fears, while dealing with his own emotions. A sweet story.

–Novie the Great: Not All Heroes Wear Capes By: Andrea Stafford Deal
A heartwarming tale about how art therapy helps Novie cope with the stress of watching her mother suffer through illness and how art gives her an outlet to deal with her stress.

–Catch Your Thoughts Before They Ruin Your Day By: Samantha Ena Minichiello
“I have the power to choose which thoughts are welcome to stay.”
A story about changing your thought process and being aware of how your thoughts can change your perception of events. How a slight change in how you think can change everything. You can choose which thoughts you let influence you. Great strategy for dealing with life’s ups and downs.

–A Squirrel’s Tale: Little Sherwin Squirrel Gets Brave Against Bullies
By: Dr. Pamela J. Pine.
Little Sherwin is being bullied and it has taken a toll on his confidence and emotional well-being. He finally decides to tell his mother what he’s been going through, and she helps by having a talk to the bullies and explaining how their actions affect Sherwin. He gets an apology and decides to forgive- leading to a new, more confident outlook. Cute.

–Courage Blooms: Baby’s Arrival Brings a Lesson in Love and Change
By: Natasha Sharma
A charming fantasy – since the arrival of her baby brother Freyja feels like she’s been replaced and no longer important to her mother and father. Then Allyssa the elf helps Freyja change her perspective to appreciate having a new baby brother and the changes that brings – instead of feeling like it’s a negative thing, or a competition for attention. She helps Freyja to appreciate that things can’t stay the same, things have to change, and how to deal with the changes. A story of family, love, patience, and understanding.

–Kesari: The Lion Who Thought He Was A Sheep By: Dr. Shelley Astrof

“With one magnificent roar, Kesari, transformed his fear and weakness into courage and confidence.”
A sheep finds a baby alone in the meadow and decides to take him home and adopts him. Kasari is different from all the other young sheep and struggles to fit in and feel accepted. But along the way he finds that his differences are what makes him special, and “inside every sheep’s heart lives the heart of a lion” … This delightful story is one of my favourites from this collection.

–One Rock At a Time: Coping With the Loss of Ruby By: Kelly Daugherty
A great little story about love, grief, and coping and dealing with loss. How talking about it can really help and you don’t have to bottle it up. The memory box idea is wonderful.

–One Breath, Two Breaths, Three Breaths…. Go! By: Dr. Krupa Vora-Knarr
Through a little adventure on a family hike through the mountains, this quirky interesting story teaches breath therapy. A strategy for dealing with all kinds of stressful situations. A great lesson for both the young, and old, alike.

–Amaleigha Tames a Bully: Kindness Can Change a Hard Heart By: Janice Pratt
I have loved little Amaleigha since meeting her in ‘Amaleigha and the Big Idea’ and ‘Amaleigha Loves a Good Story. She might only be six, but she has a wise head on her young shoulders. She’s not only helpful but is also a great little problem solver. Here, Amaleigha and her classmates find a way to dela with a bully: “Kill them with kindness”. Does their strategy work. You really should read this sweet little story for yourself to find out whether their plan works. Definitely one of my favourites from the collection.

–I Can Feel and I Can Heal: A Young Girl’s Journey to the Heart By: Julie Funkhouser
Marie has just discovered that her father has passed away- and she isn’t coping well with the news. But then a simple feather changes everything. A moving story about dealing with the death of a parent. Coping with grief and overwhelming emotions. And finding healing.

–Brooklyn’s Journey to Finding Inner Peace: How to Awaken Your Magical Chakras
By: Dr. Jennifer Browne
A new age spiritual approach to finding inner peace through knowing your chakra points and what each one is linked to. Then using that knowledge to focus your energy and channel healing, as well as to bring tranquility into your life.

–Chandria Chats With Mr. Moon By: Pamela Boehme
Chandria teaches how voicing our concerns can help us see them in a new light. Voicing our troubles gives us control. This cute tale also teaches that we are in control of designing our life.

–Blaze Outside the Box By: Lacey Ayon
Sometimes we label ourselves and put ourselves inside a box in an effort to fit in and be accepted. But this story teaches us that everyone is unique and to embrace our differences and get out of ‘the box’ we’ve been in. Be true to ourselves by accepting our differences and seeing them as what makes us unique. A lovely little story.

–The Body’s Secret Superpower By: Mair Lemus
A magical little story with lessons from mother earth when Ana has trouble fitting in at her new school. She is sad and it is affecting every aspect of her life. A walk in the forest changes things and gives her a new perspective. Another of my favourites from this collection.

–The Magic Inside: Uncovering the Superhero Within By: Lorie Weed
A great little tale that follows Alan on an adventure when he has to take a bus trip. It teaches coping skills and how everyone has a superhero within them. Sweet and fun.

–Caroline Can Do Hard Things: Courage for the Tough Times By: Meredith Speir
Caroline’s world is a bit off-kilter since her parents recent divorce. The first day of school arrives and her friends won’t be in the same class. She is worried about how it will go. Plus, she’s missing her dad and having him there like normal. Her mother showers her with extra love, and Caroline’s first day of third grade, although stressful, turns out to be quite fun. Through the story we are taught that feelings are ok and normal- and shows that we CAN do hard things. An adorable little story that makes it to my favourites list.

–Operation Mind-Shift, Commence!!: Kole’s Hero’s Journey Into the Unknown
By: Eddie BenAbraham
An enjoyable story that follows Kole as he faces the unknown and deals with fear. Especially the fear of making a presentation in front of the whole class. How does he cope? What happens when it comes time to make his talk? You really should read all the interesting developments for yourself- it is definitely worth the read.

–Together they Build, Reflect, and Belong By: Tom Dahlborg
Aaron has a great friend in Asa- we could all do with such a caring friend. This story is cute, and inspiring. All about loving ourselves just the way we are. It made it to my favourites list, too.

–Chan is Called to the Principal’s Office: A Change of Heart Can Help By: Susan Ernst
“You see, you can change how you feel about things simply by thinking about them differently. By having a change of heart!”
When Chan is called to the principal’s office his mind goes wild, expecting the worst. The story shows that we can change how something affects us, or stresses us, just by changing the way we see the situation. Great strategy to learn.

–Dear Miss Priscilla: I Dance In Your Name By: Manuela Welton Garavito
A heartwarming little story full of wonderful memories. Teaching healing through movement/dance. And how you can find healing, courage, and your ‘voice’ through any art form – such as writing, singing, painting, or dancing. In this case it was dance. This sweet story was full of emotion and inspiration.

–The Monkey Brain Survival Guide: How to Cope With Sensory Overload
By: Heidi MacAlpine
Love learning about the Lazy Eight Survival Tool. A handy strategy to have, especially in these challenging times.

–Jesse’s Stage Fright: How to Find Your Voice By Ditching Perfection
By: Justin Krull, PT
Jesse learns to overcome stage fright by changing the way he ‘self-talked’. This story teaches you to find your inner light and deal with negative ‘self-talk’. We could all do with these strategies, especially in this modern world where ‘perfect’ seems to be expected. Our thought process can change everything.

–Kiddo and Kidette: to Be or Not To Be Brave – A Play By: Corinne Puget
A cute play about the different ways to be brave. And a great, fun way to finish off this collection.

As you can see, there is plenty here to inspire- as well as a few illustrations to help build interest …. so, if your future world-changer could do with some inspiring and helpful strategies, then this is definitely a book you will want to have on your bookshelf.
Happy Reading…

Thank you to all the contributing authors!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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