What if a child could learn a practical strategy for dealing with a problem before they ever had to face it themselves?

Magic Books for Kids is a new Irish-developed digital resource for children aged 5–9 that uses engaging picture-book stories to help children understand and respond to the social and emotional challenges they may encounter growing up.

What makes Magic Books for Kids different is the process behind each story. We begin with a real problem a child may experience — such as anxiety, bullying, anger, low confidence, friendship difficulties or overwhelming emotions. We then look at current, evidence-informed approaches from psychology and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) that can help a child respond to that particular challenge.

These strategies are then broken down and simplified into language and concepts a young child can understand. Finally, both the problem and the practical strategy for dealing with it are incorporated into an engaging, child-friendly picture-book story.

The aim is not simply for children to recognise a problem. It is for them to remember what they can do about it.

By experiencing the challenge and its solution through a memorable story, children can build a bank of practical coping strategies that they may be able to recall and use when they encounter similar situations in their own lives.

Each story also includes carefully designed reflection and discussion questions, allowing teachers to explore the topic further and encourage children to think about how the strategy could apply to them.

During this online session, Owen Collum, founder of Magic Books for Kids, will explain the thinking behind the resource, demonstrate examples from the collection and show how the stories can be used practically with children in a primary school setting.

Teachers will have an opportunity to explore the platform, see the stories in action and ask questions about how Magic Books for Kids could support social and emotional learning and wellbeing in their classrooms.