Child Esteem

The town of Wirrawee is emerging from war, slowly, like a flower after a cold snap. Businesses are starting to reopen, the school has re-commenced classes, and local farmers are gradually repossessing their land. But it's not the same Australia as before the war. A new nation exists just a few miles away, a new border that separates Australia from its invaders. Or does it?

It Gets Better is a collection of expanded essays and new material from celebrities, everyday people, and teens who have posted videos of encouragement, as well as new contributors who have yet to post videos to the site. While many of these teens couldn’t see a positive future for themselves, others can. We can show LGBT youth the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach if they can just get through their teen years.

Every parent knows the struggle of wanting to equip their child with the tools to navigate a world filled with challenges. Is your son battling insecurities that hold him back from pursuing his passions? Do you worry that societal pressures are impacting his self-esteem? Tierra Williams, a passionate advocate for empowering young Black boys, understands these challenges and has crafted Positive Affirmations for Black Boys as a beacon of hope and guidance.

Sneaking out of prison isn't easy, unless you are a thief, or a wizard. Luckily, Conn is both! Trouble is, once he's out, where does he go? His home is a pile of rubble since he blew it up doing magic. His master, the wizard Nevery, is not happy with him. Worst of all, Conn's been exiled, and staying in the city will mean his death.

Conn may only be a wizard's apprentice, but even he knows it's dangerous to play with fire, especially around magic. His master, Nevery, warns him that it could all blow up in his face. Besides, they have bigger problems to deal with. There is evil afoot in the city of Wellmet, an evil that isn't human.

Septimus is not good at being a badger. He adores the sunset. He dreams of going to Venice. And he lives alone in a charming cottage by the sea. He’s not unhappy with his tidy, solitary life, but there are times when being so bad at “badgerdom” makes him wonder if he’s even a badger at all. When a gull of very few words lands on the windowsill, Septimus leaps at the possibility of friendship. However, his new confidant soon goes missing and Septimus is bereft. Determined to find his best—and only—friend, he ventures into new territory and encounters a cast of surprising characters.

Before their experiments, inventions, and discoveries that changed the world, the world’s most celebrated scientists had regular-kid problems just like you. Stephen Hawking hated school and preferred to spend his free time building model airplanes, inventing board games, and even building his own computer. Jane Goodall got in trouble for bringing worms and snails into her house. And Neil deGrasse Tyson had to start a dog-walking business to save up money to buy a telescope.

Angeline could read before she was old enough to turn the pages of a book, and she mastered the piano without a single lesson. But being so clever doesn't make life easy for Angeline. Mean kids at school call her a 'genius freak', and her dad seems a bit worried about how to look after her. It is not until she makes friends with a boy who tells the best jokes, and a teacher who loves tropical fish, that things start to get better in some surprising ways for Angeline.

There are 96 reasons why 13-year-old Genesis dislikes herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list. Genesis is determined to fix her family, and she’s willing to try anything to do so...even if it means harming herself in the process. But when Genesis starts to find a thing or two she actually likes about herself, she discovers that changing her own attitude is the first step in helping change others.

Maleeka Madison is a dark skinned African-American girl. She feels uncomfortable and wishes she had lighter skin. When her teacher, Miss Saunders, who suffers from a rare skin condition, shows that there is more to people than the color of their skin, Maleeka learns to appreciate and accept who she truly is.

The pressures faced by children and adolescents today are unprecedented and the corresponding statistics around poor mental health deeply alarming. Behind every mental health issue, from addiction to ADHD, lies a host of underlying problems that need addressing, but as a worried parent it's hard to know where to focus. What do you do if your child struggles with anxiety? Is self-harming? Has developed an unhealthy relationship with eating, exercise, technology or alcohol?

No teacher has ever liked Carter Avery. So he doesn’t expect that Ms. Olivia Krane will be any different. In fact, he heard the rumor that the new teacher—nicknamed Owl-livia, or the Owl, for short—can twist her head all the way round to catch any kid who’s up to no good. And since Carter has a hard time sitting still and not blurting stuff out, he’s sure he’s in for rough times being sent to the principal’s office. Making things worse: annoying know-it-all Missy Gerber is in his class! But the Owl knows just how to handle Carter’s energy, showing his classmates another side of him.

It might seem like everyone else has all the answers. Like how to manage stress and anxiety, how to do well in school, manage money, organize, use social skills, and become responsible and independent. But, did you know, a lot of that stuff is SO EASY once you know how?! And even better than just knowing, I’ll give you the low-down on how to do stuff that even most adults don’t know about!

Fifth grader Patrick Lowe loves to draw. While he fills sheet after sheet with beautiful drawings, he imagines he is the indomitable White Knight, far removed from the problem that haunts him at school: he can't read. When he tries, the words blur, and he feels like he's suffocating. As a result, many of Patrick's classmates think he's stupid - and Patrick believes them.

Cody Lee Carson leaves his old self behind as he starts at a new school for his fifth-grade year. The new Cody is a brilliant author who keeps a journal to record this stunning transformation, but changing is not easy. Has Cody really left his old self behind?

Abandoned in the jungle of the Nepalese Borderlands, two-year-old Nandu is found living under the protective watch of a pack of wild dogs. From his mysterious beginnings, fate delivers him to the king's elephant stable, where he is raised by unlikely parents - the wise head of the stable, Subba-sahib, and Devi Kali, a fierce and affectionate female elephant. When the king's government threatens to close the stable, Nandu, now 12, searches for a way to save his family and community. A risky plan could be the answer.

Two classic Judy Blume titles are available together! How exactly does one get freckles? For 50 cents, know-it-all Sharon has the answer: a secret family freckle recipe. In The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, second-grader Freddy Dissel feels left out. Life can be lonely when you're the middle kid in the family. But now, it's Freddy's chance to show everyone how special he is and, best of all, prove it to himself!

To solve the mystery of the disappearing stones, Conn goes back to his beginnings - gutterboy, chimney sweep, mudlark, and, yes, thief. It's the only way he can clear his name and find the culprit. But turning back is not easy, and old enemies don't disappear. Can Conn pull himself out of the gutter one more time?

Liv knows he was always meant to be a boy, but with his new school's terrible dress code, he can't even wear pants. Only skirts. Operation Pants Project begins! The only way for Liv to get what he wants is to go after it himself. But to Liv, this isn't just a mission to change the policy - it's a mission to change his life. And that's a pretty big deal.

Every parent will have to discipline a child at some stage. No matter how well behaved they are, they all have a moment when behavior lapses and falls below what is expected. In years gone by, it was the custom to use physical force to chastise children, but this has been shown to be ineffective and now parents look for other ways to deal with problems.