Going To Bat

By Author / Illustrator

Sunita Chawdhary

Genre

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Age range(s)

Publisher

Knights Of Media

ISBN

9781913311698

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

01-02-2024

Synopsis

Maya is excited to join Cricket Club at school, but between sports superstars, the big green monster, and her ACTUAL MUM coming to coach the team, she has a lot to handle. And on top of that, Mind thinks they've forgotten something important... like sending a letter to Grandad in India! Can Maya and Mind work it all out in time for their big cricket game?

Funny, and with heaps of heart, this is a delightful story for younger readers accompanied by beautiful and dynamic illustrations. "An adorable mindfulness story with a splash of funny." Rashmi Sirdeshpande. "A comedy double-act starring a young girl named Maya, and Mind, the physical manifestation of Maya's emotions and mental state. There's a relatable dynamic between the pair, with Mind hindering and helping Maya in equal measure, and the book serves as a great introduction to emotional literacy for younger readers." CLPE Recommended Read.

Reviews

Hayley

Mind and Me: Going To Bat is the second book in an original series by Sunita Chawdhary. This heartwarming and relatable story lets us once again delve into Maya's mind and experience how she manages her emotions.

Maya is back with her constant companion Mind and is about to return to school and start a new club - cricket club. This cricket club stirs up memories of her grandpa and Maya realises that it has been such a long time since she last wrote to him. But before she can do this, Maya needs to find the cricket bat that her Grandpa gave to her before she left India, but she cannot find it anywhere.

Life for Maya soon becomes very busy and challenging, with her mum as the new cricket coach and the ups and downs of joining a new team, Maya forgets all about writing a letter to grandpa. With juggling school, sport and family, and the green-eyed monster, Maya finds that everything soon becomes overwhelming and that her emotions begin to control her and not the other way round.

Mind is the voice inside Maya's head which reflects her ideas and emotions and helps her to understand the world and how it works around them. Together, Maya and Mind work to overcome the challenges in Maya's life before the big cricket game.

This book is so unique because it teaches children that their mind is very special and that we need to take care of it. I love how this book teaches children how to understand themselves through the power of story. This book openly discusses issues around mental health and well-being and how to manage anxiety for young readers. Every school should have copies of the series in there libraries for children in Key Stage 2 to access. This book would also be an excellent teaching resource for Mental Health and well-being modules in the PSHE curriculum.

215 pages / Reviewed by Hayley Summerfield, teacher