Little Meerkat's Big Panic

Jane Evans is a Trauma Parenting Specialist, international speaker and Freelance Trainer. She has worked as a respite foster carer, a domestic violence parenting worker, a registered child minder and a family support worker. She is the author of How Are You Feeling Today Baby Bear?: Exploring Big Feelings After Living in a Stormy Home and Kit Kitten and the Topsy-Turvy Feelings: A Story About Parents Who Aren't Always Able to Care, also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

This gentle, engaging story cleverly conveys sophisticated concepts about feelings and emotional regulation. With animals used to personify parts of the brain, children are taught how worry and fear quickly take over, and what to do about it. Recognizing feelings, doing something soothing, and making plans are presented as helpful strategies, with a different animal character embodying each. A helpful explanation for parents follows, with enough detail to put parents on the right track in coaching their children to regain equilibrium when they are upset. A fun, useful story.