Supporting children's wellbeing with Molly Potter's Let's Talk series

It's OK to Say No: A Let's Talk picture book to help young children understand giving and getting consent

About Author

It's OK to Say No is the latest in the Let's Talk series of books by Molly Potter addressing young children's emotions and behaviour.

Molly Potter's 35+ books cover a variety of wellbeing topics. She has taught in both mainstream and specialist schools, helping children with emotional and behavioural difficulties to trust adults, develop self-esteem and learn to self-regulate.

Molly currently writes teaching resources, delivers training, speaks at events and gives one-to-one support to children with emotional literacy and supporting behaviour. Find Molly on X @PotterMolly and resources on her website, www.mollypotter.com.

Interview

Supporting children's wellbeing with Molly Potter's Let's Talk series (Bloomsbury Education)

May 2025

If you're on the hunt for books that provide clear and simple introductions for children to often complex concepts around wellbeing, then look for the Let's Talk series by Molly Potter, illustrated by Sarah Jennings.

This series of books covers a range of topics about understanding and managing emotions and supporting positive mental health and choices, as well as helping children understand their world better, from navigating friendship to exploring family life.

This month we hear from author Molly Potter about the newest addition to the Let's Talk series, It's OK to Say No, helping children understand - and encouraging discussions around - the concept of consent. Find out more in her indepth Q&A.

Molly Potter introduces her Let's Talk series and the latest book, It's OK to Say No

"The value of these books is not just about the content, it's also the interactions
between children and adults that they initiate." Molly Potter

1. Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone. Can you tell us about your Let's Talk series, and what inspired this series of books? What is your own background in working with children?

I have worked in education for over three decades: as a mainstream primary teacher, PSHE advisor, teacher in a PRU (pupil referral unit), trainer and one-to-one mentor. As a teacher, I always preferred the 'soft' curriculum and the opportunities to support children with understanding themselves and navigating life's challenges.

Over the many years I have worked directly with children, especially with those who struggle to self-regulate, I grew to understand the importance of thinking of behaviour as communication, understanding the impact of emotions and sharing helpful information with children.

In my role as a PSHE advisor, one of the resources I produced set homework for children with the sole purpose of prompting conversations between the children and their adults at home. This resource was really well received, not just because of the material the homework covered (e.g. managing emotions, assertiveness etc) but because it provided the prompt for a meaningful conversation. The children reported loving this as a way of connecting with their adults! This resource planted a seed for the Let's Talk series which covers topics broadly under the umbrella of 'PSHE' (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education).

2. What kinds of subjects and questions do you cover through these books?

The books cover naming, exploring and understanding and managing emotions, habits for positive mental health, exploring the ups and downs of friendships, celebrating differences, what makes a family, why we might not always make the best choices when it comes to behaviour, the importance of consent, situations that might cause children to worry, death and the bird and the bees.

The format of each of the books is not the same and very much tailored to what I thought would work well for each book's purpose. Within the different books there are choices to consider, illustrations to get you thinking, questions to help you explore the topic, advice for consideration, comparisons to make and reassuring, age-appropriate information.

3. What is your aim for the children and parents sharing these books? Are you hoping as much for discussion between children and adults as raising awareness?

Yes, the value of these books is not just about the content, it's also the interactions between children and adults that they initiate. The focus with an adult on the social and emotional topics these books cover, promotes the importance of the topic for children, develops their understanding of it, creates quality time with an adult and often deepens and adult's understanding of a child's perspective.

My books sometimes trigger children to deliver delightful and incredible insights such as: excitement can be as uncomfortable as fear, that none of us get things right all of the time and we shouldn't expect to, that families aren't perfect but they're yours!

4. How do you make these books child-friendly, including the illustrations by Sarah Jennings?

I think my many years of teaching primary children meant I developed a very automatic skill for simplifying potentially complex issues and an ability to understand what might be useful for children to reflect upon. I think I can also personally remember the trials and tribulations of being a child quite well and that helps!

Sarah's illustrations definitely help deliver the 'messages' in the books. They also mean that non-readers will still engage with them and also give readers more to think about.

5. What do you cover in your new book in the series, It's OK to say No, and why did you want to address the question of consent for young children?

The theme of consent has come up several times when working with infant schools - not just because it is a valued topic - but also because it was an issue school staff were struggling to easily explain to children. This is no surprise as it can be quite complex. I went on a somewhat philosophical journey as I wrote the book myself!

I think the confusion happens over how and when consent starts to becomes a 'thing' as it starts out irrelevant for tiny babies and changes as they grow. It's also good to clarify that when a trusted adult is asking a child to do something to keep them safe, because it's good for them or it's helping them learn -however much they don't feel like doing it– it's not necessarily a matter for consent. Through providing many examples via text and illustrations, my book will leave children respectfully understanding when consent is necessary and help them grow up to become adults with a healthy understanding of boundaries - for themselves and others.

6. Will parents learn as much as their children through these books? How do you support parents and adults in using these books with children?

As over time, we progressively fine-tune our understanding of respectful interactions, emotional intelligence, and promoting mental health more and more, there always seem to be new concepts to get our heads round! I think my books provide an easy way for parents/carers and teachers to stay informed with these new developments alongside children. My books definitely play a role in putting certain social and emotional issues on the agenda! Aside from digesting the content of each book, the ensuing conversations will also teach adults about the concerns, insights and inner worlds of children!

In the back of my books, I also provide succinct notes for adults giving tips and advice on how to approach the topics each book covers. These aim to help adults feel more confident to talk about the topics but also often give advice beyond the scope of the book.

7. How do you make sure that the books are accurate in their advice? How do you go about researching each of these areas?

I approach researching the content of each book in the same way I approached new topics as a teacher and trainer: I cram myself with information from books, websites, read relevant research papers (when available), have exploratory conversations with others who work with children, find out as much as I can and draw on what I already know from working with children, to consider the relevance and usefulness of each thing I absorbed. I then embark upon the process of distilling this down to what would be useful for children. I absolutely love this process!

8. What other kinds of resources are available for the series?

For some of the books, I have produced support packs with activities that will complement understanding of the contents of the books.

Link to these titles to download the activity pack:
The Same but Different
It's OK to Cry
What Makes Me Do the Things I Do?
Lesson plan on Consent for It's OK to Say NO
How Are You Feeling Today? has a sticker and activity book that adds to the engagement of its contents!
I also write regular blog posts on my website about issues that relate to emotional intelligence, parenting, behaviour etc. which many people seem to find useful. It's aimed mostly at informing adults but there are also ideas for use with children if you search its back catalogue.

9. Who would you suggest would benefit from the books - early years settings as much as homes?

The books can be used in any setting where adults work with young children, as well as home. I have received feedback about how much they have been loved in both settings. Having said that, I also think some of the books are more likely to be revisited by a child independently at home because of the even greater accessibility of the content such as:
• How Are You Feeling today?
• How are you Feeling Now?
• Will You Be My Friend?
• What's Worrying You?
• It's OK to Cry
• The Same but Different
• What Makes You Do That?

10. Do you have other books planned for this series? What are you writing currently?

I love writing now. (I totally hated it at school!) I am always writing: blog posts, educational resources, website content etc. but my next book in the series is about children considering their future in an aspirational and reflective way. It's currently being illustrated. (It's always extremely exciting when I first get to see what Sarah has done.) There's another book planned after that but I'm not giving too much away!

Molly Potter introduces her earlier Let's Talk book, What Makes Me Do the Things I Do? (Bloomsbury Education)

What Makes Me Do The Things I Do encourages children to think about why they behave in certain ways, to consider how their actions affect others, and to effectively manage their emotions. But it's also about encouraging children to think about their own responses. Molly Potter says, "What Makes Me Do The Things I Do? doesn't look at behaviour from a child development point of view as much as being another tool for self-reflection."

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