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Last month at Mishmash Meadow someone finally moved into the old house at the end of Willow Street, the one that has been vacant for years. Naturally, because I am very curious, I came over one day to greet the new neighbors and tell them all about Mrs. Lana Otter’s new ice cream shop! But a gloomy face opened the door for me. “Hi,” I said, and I stretched my pink arm, the one that has four fingers “My name is Mistake” I said enthusiastically “Welcome to Mishmash Meadow!” “Hi,” said the gloomy face, “My name is Tammy, and I really don’t like this place” I was appalled to hear what Tammy said. She didn’t like my town? She hasn’t even tried Lana’s pistachio ice cream! There was something odd and I needed to know. “And why don’t you like this place?” I asked, trying to keep cool “Because I am here only with my mom. My dad stayed in my old house. Everything in my life is changing and I hate it” Tammy closed the door, and I was so confused. I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to be pushy, so I went back home. The next day I went back to Tammy’s house and knocked on her door again. She opened the door with a long face, again. But this time I offered her to join me for some ice cream. On the way there I noticed some tears rolling down her cheeks. “Whatever it is,” I told her “Some ice cream will make it better.” She showed an almost invisible smile. We had our ice cream and I told her a few useful things about our town. Like where the fireflies gather at dusk, where is the best place to roller skate and who is the fastest runner in town. I asked her about the day before, when she told me that everything in her life is changing. She looked to the ground and sighed. Looking at her fingers she told me that they moved to Mishmash Meadow because her parents were no longer together, so she and her mom and her moved over here, but she left everyone she cared about back in her old town. I said that I was sorry to hear that, because it was obvious that it made her really sad. “What do you mean they are no longer together?” I asked. She looked up to me and said “they are getting a divorce” she paused. “They are, like, un-marrying. It’s like getting married, only backwards and there is no cake”she said, trying to smile. “I can see that it makes you sad” I said “and I remember you said you don’t like this place…” I said, hoping she didn’t mean it. “Yes, I said that.” she sighed “Because I am in a strange place, my friends and my dad are in another town, and I feel like this is all my fault.”, tears again rolling down her green cheeks (did I mention Tammy is a turtle?). I felt like I had to do or say something to comfort her, so I asked, “why do you feel this is all your fault?” She wiped her tears and said “I don’t know… I just feel like, now I don’t have a family anymore, I must have done something wrong.” I took a deep breath, then I remember how my aunt and uncle had a divorce a few years ago and how my cousins felt so sad but eventually, they found a new harmony, so I said to Tammy: “You know, there is more than one kind of family.” her eyes opened wide “Yes, some have one mom, one dad and their kids, some have just one mom or just one dad, but that doesn’t mean they are not a family” “Sometimes parents don’t get along anymore, and they decide to be away from each other so they can be a better parent for you” I continued. “People make choices, and they affect us in different ways. But you have to know that this is not your fault, and this new chapter in your life can be a great one” I said with a smile “I know it will be hard, but I am here for you. You can’t control what grown-ups do, but you can decide to find ways to be happy” I said, and I gave her a shiny yellow wildflower. Tammy smiled and hugged me. I know her journey just started, but I hope I can be a good friend to her. In all the uncertainty that she will be going through, I hope I can be a pair of ears that will listen to her and a friend that can remind her that she can still be happy, even if the life as she knows it changes a million times. Talking Points: Mistake didn’t push Tammy to speak when she wasn’t ready Mistake was friendly and offered support Mistake asked questions about how Tammy felt Mistake offered some positive thoughts Tammy opened up and shared how she felt

Alina was walking to school when a monster, tiny as a mouse, jumped inside of her backpack. With every step Alina took, the tiny monster grew a little bit bigger, and bigger, and bigger until her backpack was so heavy, she had to stop. With a lot of effort, she took her heavy backpack off her back. Her heart was pounding, she was sweating and short of breath. She opened the backpack and saw a monster the size of a big cat snuggled between her math and science notebooks! They both screamed, Alina fell to the ground and crawled behind a trash can, the terrified monster tried to hide inside the backpack, but its body was even bigger, and it didn’t fit inside it anymore. Alina’s heart felt like it was about to jump out of her body. Both she and the monster sneaked out of their hideouts but when they met each other’s eyes they screamed again. It would have been a funny scene to watch if anyone was watching. But alas, there was nobody on that street and the last thing they wanted to do was to laugh. “Who…who are you?” Alina finally articulated. The monster, growing a little bit bigger, now the size of a medium-sized dog, said “My name… is… Anxiety.” “And… why are you here?” Alina asked, still trembling. “Well… that’s something you have to find out,” said the monster, its green eyes blinking insistently. “I don’t want you here!” said Alina. “Here’s the thing,” said the monster “Only you know why I am here. I am invisible to most people around you, but the ones that really care for you can see me. I will stay with you until you figure out why I am here.” Alina was confused. She felt so overwhelmed she even got dizzy. “I will just ignore you” she finally responded. “Ignoring me will only make me bigger,” said Anxiety, standing up, cleaning the dust off its knees. “I am sure no one can see you,” Alina said, determined. “People who care about you can see me.” Said Anxiety. “I will deny you” Alina responded. Getting nervous, “Denying me will only make me bigger,” said Anxiety. “I will hide you,” said Alina, her voice growing louder. “You could. But here’s a secret, the more people see me, the smaller I get” said Anxiety in a calm voice. “But they will laugh at me when they see you,” said Alina, as she paced from side to side on the sidewalk. “Probably. But the better you get to know me, the less important their opinion will be” Anxiety said in a comforting voice. “Listen, knowing that Anxiety is always with you may overwhelm you. Don’t try to hide me or deny me, instead talk about me with people that can see me.” Alina thought and thought. She was not in an ideal situation at all. “So… you won’t go away?” asked Alina. “No…” said Anxiety “wherever you go, I will go.” Alina sighed and looked to the ground. She realized there was nothing she could do at that very moment because she had to get to school, even though she really didn’t want to show up carrying a huge monster on her back. She got into her classroom in a rush hoping no one would notice the monster inside her backpack. But her friend Matt noticed. “Hey, what’s that in your backpack?” he asked. “Uhm… nothing” she responded. Anxiety grew a bit bigger. “No… there really is something going on,” said Matt. As he sat with her at lunchtime, they both spoke and had fun, and Anxiety grew smaller. Alina got back to her classroom after recess. With every question the teacher asked, Anxiety grew and grew inside of her backpack, which became too tight for it. Alina started sweating bullets and when the teacher asked her a question, Anxiety suddenly jumped out of the backpack and the whole class screamed! The teacher asked what was going on. Alina tried to hide under her desk. She was so embarrassed, but Anxiety stood up in the middle of the classroom, visible to Matt, the teacher, and Sarah, the girl across the classroom that sometimes smiles at her. “Alina, can you please explain to us what is going on?” the teacher said. Alina remembered what Anxiety told her in the morning, “introduce me.” So, she took a deep breath. Shakingly, she walked to the middle of the classroom, standing next to Anxiety. She grabbed Anxiety’s furry hand and said to her teacher, “This here is Anxiety” Alina stated. And everyone gasped. “Anxiety is my monster. It climbs in my backpack every morning on the way to school and as I get here, it gets heavier and bigger. It grows when I come across a new person, a new task, a new subject, and sometimes even when I think I forgot something I didn’t forget. Most people don’t see it, but it is big and heavy for me. Anxiety has told me that the more I speak about it, the smaller and lighter it will become” Little by little the rest of the kids were able to see Alina’s Anxiety. Some were shocked, some giggled, some gave an empathetic smile. The teacher came closer to them, “nice to meet you, Anxiety. I hope you don’t grow too big for this room!” she said “but please know that I understand that you are part of Alina’s life, and we respect you” On the other side of the room, Sarah stood up. With quiet footsteps, she approached Alina and Anxiety. “This is my Anxiety,” she said. Another monster appeared in the room. “And… this is mine,” said Matt. Another monster appeared. One by one the kids in Alina’s classroom stood up and one by one, bigger and smaller, anxiety monsters appeared, visible to the rest of the class. Finally, the teacher said, “well kids… this is my Anxiety” another monster appeared in the room. “What are we going to do with so many anxiety monsters?” asked one of the kids. “I think… we can all say ‘Hi’ to them every morning, treat them with love and respect and they will stay quiet and small,” the teacher said. Alina’s Anxiety became small as a mouse. She carefully seated it on her desk and asked it not to be too distractive. On her way back home, Anxiety crawled from her backpack to her shoulder and said, “Thank you for acknowledging me.” Alina winked at it, smiled, and said “you are welcome. Now please go back inside my backpack, I need to focus on my way back home.” Key Points: Anxiety is NORMAL! Most people feel anxiety at some point in their life. Different things can trigger anxiety in different people – social gatherings, illness, public speaking, uncertain situations, and more. The more we understand & acknowledge our anxiety, the better we can handle it.

Samantha Berger is the award-winning author of over 85 books for young readers, including Crankenstein (illustrated by Dan Santat), What If...(illustrated by Mike Curato) and Rock What Ya Got (illustrated by Kerascoet). She is also a twice Emmy-nominated television writer. Samantha was also the Editorial Director and Vice President of Animated Shorts for Nickelodeon for over a decade. She currently writes for Sesame Street in Communities and Sesame Street International, taking on challenging subjects like childhood homelessness, foster care, Community Violence, and the need to educate children about the importance of clean water, all over the world. Samantha splits her time between New York City and Santa Monica with her dog Polly Pocket. Samantha wrote a brilliant book about body image called ‘Rock What Ya Got’. With great humor and creativity she helps children embrace themselves for who they are.

You can purchase the book at the Mistake Club store or watch the animated video here:

Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli has a peculiar story, where the editorial had fallen in love with the illustrations For her young audience she transforms into Jean the Story Queen, dressed in her purple puffy dress, and But Jean the Story Queen then shows the other part of the story, when the monsters turn out to be children Barbara Jean the Story Queen has a genuine positive energy that she loves to share with classrooms and We thank Her Majesty Barbara Jean The Story Queen for her time, her kindness, her smile, her positive

You can find Diane’s books and videos of her stories on her website: https://dianealber.com.

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How have you become interested in writing children's stories? How do you get inspired by ideas for your stories? Usually when I sit in front of my computer the story is 80% done. Others I create based on the needs of the stories. Do you know the end of a story when you start writing or do you discover how the story unfolds as you

Polona Kisovec likes to create stories and write about things we all think about but find difficult to Fairy and Sun Prince met - when I first read the story of how Sun Prince hid the cloths of Moon Fairy When I asked Polona Kisovec during our interview about this she explained that the story is taken from When reading the story to younger children I would simply skip or change the story to a more socially When reading the story to older children I would tell the story as is.

on my first attempt to sell an original story! , I was recruited by a local comic magazine to write and illustrate my own stories. How did you come up with the idea to write this story? And the story just flowed, I drew the sketches in about 20 minutes! Why did you choose an open ending to the story? Because that’s how life is.